May 26, 2010

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.

91 comments:

Sharmila said...

I prefer savoury things to sweet ones ... so am glad you made the bread savoury. Skipped lunch and am hungry now ... off to try that omelette with a cup of tea right away.
I can watch TGMBC anytime ... it is so so good. A lovely post ... as always ... dear Asha. :-)

jayasree said...

Those scottish baps are gorgeous. I am simply in love with that. Bookmarked.

Meeta K. Wolff said...

oh i do like the paneer omelet very much! made paneer over the weekend but looks like i'll have to make another batch!

Finla said...

Hi hi I love that movie too God's must be crazy, w ehave seen them few times and each time we are jus tlaughing and laughing :-) just the thought makes me smile.
Baps looks so so good, i hav enever made that Tetrassini , it is the first time i hear aobut this chicken dish, but what i love is tha tpaneer omelett it looks liike a pizza ;-) Here too it has been raining the whole day today and I have to go for shopping for salades ec.... and I am in no mood to take my cycle and go ;-(
SHyama had her finals for violin, she got 90% the highest and there was 12 jury members, I went to watch her but before that i was so nervous I had to go to the toilet three times :-) and shyama was so calm about it, even Hans was nervous, can you imagine that, when they announced the results Hans was so imotional I saw his eyes welling up. FOr him it was a proud moment as he has done the same when he was her age.

Rajee Mani said...

That's a lovely bread Asha. I havent ever tasted Scottish Baps but looks like a simple enough recipe to try some time. Enjoy the summer and hope humidity isn't so intolerable.

Rekha said...

The scottish baps go to my next must-try list.

lata raja said...

Loved the flaky insides of the Scottish Baps. The recipe sounds simple to try. Thanks for sharing.

Nandinis food said...

It's a wonderful trio of dishes! I love chicken tetrazzini the most! I'll try all these dishes in the coming weekend!

Vrinda said...

Scottish bap is new to me,would lov to taste them,looks so good..Liked ur omelette n chicken dish..looks so tempting...

Divya Kudua said...

Love savory breads and the Scottish Baps look so pretty..:):)

LOL about the movie..I remember seeing it long long back:)

indosungod said...

Lovely Scottish bread, I am glad you made it savory. Will try this soon. Have not baked in a while.

The "The Gods Must be Crazy" was the movie to see when we were in school. That reminds the kids will enjoy the movie for sure. Will watch with them again. Thanks for the reminder.

notyet100 said...

buns look delicious,and the chicken dish super yum...:-)
and ya ur right time is flyin so fast,..

Lavanya Raj said...

Paneer Potato Omelet is so Good Asha!!

yesterday we finished one paneer pack, now after seeing urs, i got to buy another one..

Madhuri Krishna Bhat said...

Wow Asha all the three recipes looks awesome... fav to be scottish Baps...
Great job!

Indian Khana said...

Bread looks too gud...and so the omelete...seems u had a gud week cookin n eating :)

Sushma Mallya said...

All the dishes looks yum esp savory scottish baps,very flaky and done it perfectly...lovely clicks too asha

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

the paneer potato omlette looks heavenly. such a quick yet filling recipe. perfect for busy days. never had scottish baps but love savory bakes. looks lovely.

Hayley said...

loved scottish baps...tempting and yeah time flies too quickly, now days where my daygoes I don't know..:-) Have a nice day.

Unknown said...

Looks fantastic & nice clicks..

FH said...

Thanks girls. Hope you try the Baps, so easy with very few ingredients. You can make it sweet or savory! :))

Bong Mom said...

Paneer and Potatoes in an omlette sound total yumm Asha. At last it is hot here, yehhhhhh

sharada said...

the scottish baps looks awesome!!Chicken Tetrazzine seems tasty!!

Umm Mymoonah said...

baps and omlette looks absolutely perfect

Swathi said...

Scottish Baps looks really good. I love God must crazy movie. I will try scottish baps some time.

Sandhya said...

That flaky Scottish bread i interesting....is it on the crunchy side?

Cham said...

I saw the baps in "bread book" but ur savory version is more interesting! The paneer omelette an another easy quick fix side dish!

Usha said...

Those scottish baps look and sound fabulous, would love to try them!

Unknown said...

Have bookmarked the omelet to try this weekend :) Love the chicken recipe too!

Jaya M said...

Paneer potato omelet sounds so delicious.Savory Baps I like them .
hugs and smiles

Anonymous said...

Paneer and potato in omelet is new.Will try this for my son's lunch.

Shalini

Indrani said...

all the 3 dishes are mouth watering, especially the bread and omelette

arthi said...

Hey Asha,scottish baps are mouthwatering..and paneer potato omelette is very different..love the recipes.nice clicks!!

FH said...

Thanks to everyone, glad you liked these dishes.

Sandhya, Baps are rolled out about 1/2" thick to bake and with the addition of Yeast, they are soft, not crunchy at all. Hope you try!:))

Suganya said...

Mouthwatering recipes Asha... All r looking so good. Chicken tetrazzni is my fav, its been a long time i made one.YUM!.....

Sumi said...

I absoluutly loved the the "Gods must be crazy " movie, the first time I watched.I have been recommending it to all my friends since then...
and about Autria, I felt it was lot different from Swiss.
Its more calm and serene and not all commercialises like Swiss.When you get a chance please make plans to visit this part of Europe.

Priya Suresh said...

Tempting chicken tetrazzini and beautiful omelette, gorgeous baps..

sra said...

I remember Gods Must Be Crazy! It didn't come to our town so we had to go to the next town to watch it, I think! Too much going on today, tomorrow, supposed to be on leave from work after that, hoping plans don't change too much.

J said...

You baked baps! WHat will the bakers do if you bake all those goodies yourself!:) I buy baps as we get good ones here in London but I'd love to bake my own bread one day!

shankari said...

I have never made paneer omlettes. I love the movie, Gods must be crazy :)

Priya said...

Paneer potato omelet is all new for me. Loved your dishes:))

Faiza Ali said...

I was thinking about making this chicken tetrazzini s....Now, i will refer your post and make it soon and that paneer omelet looks yummy.

amna said...

the baps look amazing! bookmarked.

Unknown said...

baps look so pretty..yumm..

Raks said...

Baps sounds and looks really cool! Paneer potato omlet sounds yumm too :)

Meera said...

I loved that paneer omelet. Need to try sometime. Baps and tetrazini look good too.

suvi said...

Gods must be crazy...you bring back memories...we saw it so often on the video that the cassette got spoilt!

I am so going to make the sweet baps!
Potato I put often in omelettes, but never paneer...sounds yum!

Aps Kitchen said...

Awesome..... scottish baps.... about the other 2 dishes i can tell they luk nice.... i dont know how they taste though..... bcoz i neither eat chicken nor omlettes..
I'd never tried baps ne time must try soon :)

Kalpana said...

Every dish looks so yummy!!! :)
Need to try Paneer omlette one day.. Thanks...

And hey thanks a lot for your wishes in my blog... :)

Life is beautiful !!! said...

I am drooling on all the pics :) Gr8 photos and thanks for sharing :)

Uma said...

love all the dishes. Everything looks great :)

Sailaja said...

Asha, Those baps and paneer omelete are mouth watering... I will definitely try these recipes one day.

Shammi said...

I love your chicken tetrazzine recipe - I'll be making it for my husband and my stepkids, but for me it'll have to be a paneer-veg combo. Guess I'll be making this twice!

Wow - "The gods must be crazy", havent thought of it in years, but adored it when i was a kid :D Saw it like half a dozen times!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Never heard of baps now. Must try my hand at them and that lovely omlette too.
Enjoy your long weekend with the kids.

My daughter's school reopens for the new year in another 10 days. Am going to miss having her at home. :)

Dershana said...

saw these baps on priya's site recently (the sweet version), now that you have a savoury version, bookmarking ;-)

i stil remember watching that movie as a kiddo. my uncle had taken me to the theatre for a treat :-) and once i was an adult, i ferreted out the DVD from some place and watched it again :-)

FH said...

Thank you everyone. Baps are so easy to bake, hope you try and make both sweet and savory!:)

Mandira said...

the omelet looks delicious Asha!

Vikis Kitchen said...

Scottish bread with a twist seems so delicious dear. Chicken dish is completely new to me....superb. Its a keeper:) Omelet tempts me to try immediately. again a nice post. waiting to get some rain:) Happy holidays dear!

AJ said...

Baps look great Asha!!

Urmi said...

Paneer omelet and Scottish baps looks spicy, yummy and delicious. Very nice and interesting recipe. Wonderful presentation. You are welcome in my blogs.

Rachana said...

The Scottish baps are gorgeous!

Have a nice weekend, Asha :-)

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Savoury scottish baps.. looks tooooooooo good .. Must try it.. I have so much of ur dishes in my to do list Asha..

Jayashree said...

I've watched Gods must be crazy ages ago....and though I don't remember the storyline, I remember that I loved it. Wasn't there a second part to it, too?

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

soooo mouth-0watering dear..thanks for sharing:)

Padmajha said...

Asha,I always look forward to your posts,not just for the recipes but the other stuffs you share like reads and movies.Love them as well..The Baps look so delish :)

FH said...

Thanks everyone, enjoy the long weekend holiday. I will see you all next week!:))

Jaya, there are so many sequels of "The Gods Must Be Crazy" movie, atleast 4-5 of them. But I think first one is the best and second one is okay too. Rest of them I have never bothered to watch. Love to watch the first movie again and again.

Lavanya said...

It's nice to see you back. you have got nice recipes. i loved your microwave peanuts. i made once before. i am making again today. i would like to see more healthy recipes which appeal to kids. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes.

Namitha said...

Such a wonderful post...BTW that's what you always do :D Lovely scottish baps..Loved your idea of savory version...omelette looks splendid too..
Casn't agree more on Gods must be crazy..:-) Such a wonderful movie..We say almost all the dialogues at home..lol..esp aayay aaya yaa :-)

Will catch up when I come back, till then ,bye !!!

FH said...

Thanks Lavanya and Gulmohar.

Enjoy your trip to India G, will see you later. Safe flight! :))

A_and_N said...

Not baked bread in ages now. I should try that.

and paneer in omelette? That's a first! must try. Anything for paneer :D

FH said...

Hi N, Paneer Omelet is perfect for two, try it. Hope you are having great morning, long weekend to spend. Shopping? :))

Mona said...

I love the omelette's recipe! Must try that one. The casserole sounds good too!

Lisa Johnson said...

Just when I thought that that I'd heard of most breads... A new one to me! Never heard of Baps before, but they look good. The paneer potato omelet looks delicious too!

And I watched "It's Complicated" recently too. I really liked it, but it was a wee bit on the slow side.

Padhu Sankar said...

Scottish baps look gorgeous .The paneer potato omelet is so tempting!!

Srivalli said...

Lovely menu Asha..loved those breads..you reminded me of that movie..heheh..I remember how we used and die of laughing...heheheh..I still have a Video of that, though it may not work..:)

Unknown said...

Hummm I am a big fan of that movie God's must be crazy have seen coupleof times thanks for the link dear and let me know about Prinec of persia.. and just love those Scottish baps looks perfect and delicious omelet recipe.......

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Everything sounds delicious Asha. Even though I am British I have never had a bap. I will have to try them sometime.

M D said...

I love the way u express ur food, the posts and the weekend musings! It's nice to read through. Loved the recipes that u post Asha, esp those flaky Savory Scottish Baps. Book marked!

Rajani said...

nice omellette! will try it out soon, though i do make omellette with potato - paneer is new! so got to try it! and these baps are something new as well :)

FH said...

Thanks friends, enjoy your Memorial day holiday. See you tomorrow! :)

Linda said...

Hi, Asha! You must be so glad to have the kids home for summer. Those baps look awesome and sound even better -- if that is possible. Also, the tetrazzini, what a great dish for me to try while my own kids are still here. Thanks for that!

As for paneer, well, never can resist that in any form... :)

Hope you're well!

starry said...

Never heard of scottish Baps but they do look so delicious straight from the oven.Have to try and make the omelet,thanks for sharing all these lovely delicious dishes..hope the rain stops.

Parita said...

I am definately renting the dvd of The Gods must be crazy asap! Sounds like a fun movie to watch :)
I love that omlette pic, though I am not a regular omelette eater but i would love to make that one at home!
Have a nice week ahead!

Pravs said...

humid as new orleans huh ? all new dishes for me...nice paneer potato omelet.
I loved that movie..gods must be crazy, as a kid. Too good :)

suma said...

Paneer and potato in an omelette sure make it even more tasty!!

Manju said...

its been a while since I came here..feels good to go through the posts i missed :) my fav of these is the paneer-potato omelet!

Dewi said...

Asha, paneer-potato omelet sound like my ultimate breakfast dish. You are very clever and creative my dear.

FoodLovers said...

bookmarked omeltte recipe Asha would like to try it ..all the dishes look gr8

GayathriRaj said...

Hey wow i liked the omlette a lot...looking gr8 actually....the colourful way of it is tempting me basically....and that scottish baps is also too good yaar.... nice blog...

FH said...

Thank you all, glad you liked the Paneer Omelet, enjoy the mid week. I will see you all soon! :))

Jaya M said...

Asha,
tried your recipe for scottish baps today,they have turn out so soft and I just loved it.Thanks for sharing this recipe.I baked it at 180 deg C for 18 mints.I am having little bit of computer problem right now.Will be in touch with you again soon.
hugs and smiles

FH said...

Jaya, thanks for the feedback. If you add sugar, it will make a good dessert too and great with Jams in the morning. Enjoy and take it easy, hope your PC get fixed soon. Nothing makes you angrier when you want to blog and can't because of PC, I know! :D