Bezar Spice Mix / Bezar Masala - How to Make this Arabic Spice at Home

Bezar is a spice mixture mainly used in middle east countries this is a Traditional Arabic Spice blend. This a also know as Omani Spice mix used in Arabian cooking.Its can be used to make stews non veg and as well as veg, fish etc. This is like the garam masala that is used in India. Its very flavorful and aromatic, the spices are first roasted then pounded together. Once the bezar has been prepared, it can be kept in an airtight container and refrigerate, it will remain fresh for a year.

Ingredients
20 Grams Cumin seeds
20 Grams Dried Coriander seeds
5 Grams Black Peppercorns
20 Grams Fennel seeds
5 Nos Dry Red chillies
15 Grams Turmeric powder
5 Grams Cinnamon sticks 
Method 

Dry roast all ingredients (except turmeric ) one by one till they turn aromatic. Take care not to burn any of the spices or your will get smoky charred smell. 

Let everything cool down to room temperature and grind to a fine powder. Stored in an airtight container, the mix will keep for up to 12 months, I have refrigerated it to preserve the color and flavor of the spice mix.

Labels: Masala, Bezar, Spice Mix, Arabic, UAE

Mediterranean Fish En Papillote #FishFridayFoodie

French refer to parchment paper cooking as En Papillote means "In Paper". This method of cooking is healthy and cuts down the amount of fat / calories in the dish.  In this method the fish is place on a parchment paper and then folded and sealed. This is baked and hence the fish is juicy and tasty too.

Serves 1
Ingredients

165 Grams fillet of white fish - I used Surmai
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper powder
1/4 Teaspoon Red Chilly Flakes
1 Clove of garlic - grated
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
1 Tomato - Cut into thick roundel
1 Lemon - cut into roundel
1 Small Onion - Cut into thick roundel
1/4 of a Green Capsicum - Cut into thick roundel
2 Teaspoons Olives - sliced
2 Teaspoons Olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees . 

Take a 20-inch long piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil (foil is actually easier to use. So use it if you don’t have parchment), fold it in half, unfold, and place it on a foiled baking tray.

Wash and pat dry the fish fillet with a kitchen towel.Feel the fish on all sides and check to see if any thorns are still in it, remove them.  Score the fish with a knife lightly and then season it with salt, pepper, chilly flakes, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Keep it aside for at least 15 minutes.

Place 3 slices of lemon on the on right side of the parchment paper, then lay the seasoned fish fillet on it. Place the tomato slices on the fish, and then the onions, lime pieces, capsicum, scatter the olives. Pour the remaining seasoning on top of the veggies. 

Now, seal up the pouch.  Fold the parchment over on top of the fish. Starting at the top inner corner, fold and crimp the edges approximately every quarter-inch, until you’ve created a half-moon. Be sure the folds are well-creased, to keep the steam from pushing the pouch open in the oven.  I used beaten egg to seal the sides.  Brush the crimped edges with the egg wash well ( this will prevent the steam from pushing the pouch open).

Bake for  15 minutes. After 15 minutes place on broil at 200 degrees for 5 minutes.  Take the tray out of the oven. Slide the packet onto the plate, let it cool for 5 minutes then with a scissor make a cut on top let the steam escape and then tear it open fully. Serve and enjoy this healthy, light and juicy Mediterranean Fish En Papillote .

Sending this to Fish Friday Foodies - Host of the month Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories, theme  En Papillote. Thank you Karen for choosing such a healthy method of cooking. Enjoyed making and also eating Fish En Papillote for my lunch.

Labels :  Fish, Continental Cuisine, Healthy,Baked, Fish Friday,  Seafood/Fish, Mediterranean, Fish En Papillote, Parchment paper, Surmai Fish

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Flaky Croissants Dough - How to make a Flaky Croissants Dough.

I always thought making croissants is difficult and tedious process. After making this dough let me assure you it's easy but time taking and requires patience. Since I made this in winter rolling the dough was easy and did not give me trouble at all. I enjoyed this full process of making this dough right from start to finish, which took me 3 days. When I finished making the final product the joy is in-explainable .. it was like an achievement for me..

The process is long but not difficult to make. I raided YouTube before beginning, to get a clear picture of the entire process.  Would suggest that, before you undertake making this croissant dough do watch videos on You Tube.  When you watch videos, you will not see this method of making the croissants dough, but, I have tried many methods while making the puff pastry dough and found this the easiest way.

With this dough you can make plain croissants or with chocolate (Pain au Chocolate), Danish pastries and many more recipes. Please read the notes before beginning...

I made plain croissants and Petite Pain au Chocolate from this dough. So let's go to the process ....

Ingredients
300 Grams All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Cold Water
1/2 Cup Cold Milk
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Egg
2 Tablespoon Butter
1 Teaspoon Instant yeast
1 Teaspoon Salt
A little more flour for dusting/ rolling out dough

For the butter layer
225 Grams Cold Unsalted Butter

Method
First Day
Make the dough like you make a bread dough (check bread recipes on my blog to see the process). After making this dough refrigerate it overnight.

Second Day
Laminate the dough
Remove the butter from the fridge and keep it on your kitchen counter to make it pliable. Take the dough out from the fridge place it on a lightly floured work surface. 

Roll it out to a 14 inch x 6 inch rectangle and brush off the excess flour. 

Take the butter and spread it evenly on 3/4 of the dough. 

Then fold it see the pics. Make a book fold of the dough.

Keep the dough in a floured tray, then refrigerate the dough in a cling wrap for 10 to 15 minutes. 

After 15 minutes the dough is cold not hard take out from the refrigerator. Place it on a floured work surface and the folded sides vertical. 

Then lightly press the dough with a rolling pin and then with light pressure start rolling it by lightly rolling from the middle towards the top and the same way from the middle towards you. Keep turning the sides and roll it again from middle towards the top and then towards you, With the rolling pin, firmly press along the dough uniformly to elongate it slightly. Focus on lengthening rather than widening the dough and keeping the edges straight, make it into a rectangle 10" x 5". If the ends lose their shape, gently reshape the sides with your hands. Brush off the excess flour, again book fold it and keep this dough in a floured tray wrapped in cling film for 15 minutes to relax and chill the dough.. Place a paper mark on the dough writing first fold, Repeat this process another 3 times each time refrigerate and mark the folds of the dough before you start the next rolling the same way.

Roll and fold the dough exactly in the same way for the fourth time and keep it in the tray, cover with cling wrap, sealing all sides and refrigerate overnight.

Third Day 
The dough is ready to use.

Divide the dough according to the recipe needed 

keep the remaining cling wrapped in the freezer for use later. This dough remains good for 2 months.

To use it remove it from the freezer the previous night and keep it in the fridge. Remove the dough 15 minutes before and then use it by pressing the dough lightly on a lightly floured work surface with a rolling pin and then into the required shape and thickness.

My Notes
Most Important - If you are wearing rings on your fingers or bangles on your hand, take them off before you start working with dough. These will invariably tear the dough. If the butter comes out, patching it up by dusting with flour does not always work and you will loose the desired layers of the final product.

The butter should be cold – cold enough that it is pliable enough to spread it.

See that the dough and butter inside it is cold. Once the butter starts melting, it is difficult to roll the dough and you will not get the dough to produce layers because the dough tends to absorb the butter. When rolling the dough, if at any point you feel the dough becoming warm and butter soft, put it back in the fridge immediately.

During the lamination of the dough (rolling and folding repeatedly), chill the dough. Resting and chilling the dough is an important part of making process.

You also need a lot of patience and delicate handling of the dough. Use just enough / light pressure to stretch it and roll the dough. The rolled out dough before shaping should be 1/4” thick.

This the  Petits Pain au Chocolat - Mini Chocolate Croissant that I made will update the post when I publish the next post with the remaining dough...

Labels : Breads, Croissant

Petits Pain au Chocolat - Mini Chocolate Croissant

These homemade petit (small) and flaky French-style croissants filled with chocolate were a treat for the eyes . When I made these delicious small pastries my hubby's favorite, it bought memories of our stay in Europe since last two summers. Pain au Chocolat were his breakfast daily which he simply loved. He was so surprised to see these beauties with his evening tea and they disappeared too quickly.

Sending these to the #Bread bakers event. This month’s theme, is hosted by Ruchik Randhap . Thank you Shireen for hosting this event.

Ingredients
2 Sheets Croissant Dough (8" x 6") -Homemade
All-purpose flour, for work surface
1 Egg - for brushing
Mini Milk Chocolates as required

Method

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Place dough on a lightly floured work surface; cover and let stand until butter is slightly softened for 5  minutes.

Roll dough out to a 8 x 6-inch rectangle. Measure it with a tape or rule.   Place a chocolate piece  one inch away from the edge of the pastry.   Brush the edge of the sheet with egg wash and the sides of each croissant. Fold   the dough tightly, enclosing chocolate.   

Then cut them into pieces. Place pastry rolls on baking sheet.

Cover pastries with plastic wrap and refrigerate till they double in size or you can keep them overnight in the fridge and bake them next day. Cover and refrigerate remaining egg glaze.  

See the petits pain au chocolat -- the chocolate oozing out. Just waiting for them to cool, so that I can bite into these beauties.

When they double in size. preheat oven to 160°F.  Brush tops of pastry rolls with remaining egg glaze.  

Bake until pastries are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. 

Serve warm or at room temperature.  Take a hot cup of chai and these beauties... enjoy...

Lables : Breads, French Cuisine, Bread Bakers, Chocolate, Croissant

Breads with Cocoa, Cacao or Carob in any form

• Chocolate & Cherry Swirl Breads from The Bread She Bakes
• Chocolate Orange Swirl Buns from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Chocolate and Vanilla Brioche from Kidsandchic
• Chocolate Banana Quick Bread from Basic N Delicious
• Chocolate Buttermilk Quick Bread from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chocolate Filled Bundt Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Chocolate Monkey Bread from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Quick Bread from Magnolia Days
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls from From Gate to Plate
• Chocolate Yeast Bread from Cook's Hideout
• Croatian Povitica - Chocolate Walnut Swirl Bread from Herbivore Cucina
• Dark Chocolate Cherry Pocket Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Dark Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns from Baking in Pyjamas
• Double Chocolate Espresso Scones from Wholistic Woman
• Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Egg Free 45 Minutes Chocolate Buns from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Eggless Chocolate Babka from I Camp in my Kitchen
• Eggless Chocolate Swirl Buns from Seduce Your Tastebuds
• Eggless Triple Chocolate Scones from Spill the Spices
• Four-Chocolate Sour Cream Quickbread from What Smells So Good?
• Leopard Print Bread from Spiceroots
• Pain Au Chocolat (Chocolate filled Croissants) from G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Pane Al Cioccolato - Chocolate Bread from Ruchik Randhap
• Petits Pain au Chocolat - Mini Chocolate Croissant from Sneha's Recipe
• Sourdough Cacao Sweet Bread from The Schizo Chef
• Sweet Russian Chocolate Braid from Hostess At Heart
• Two Chocolates Greek Yogurt Banana Bread from La cocina de Aisha

Breads with Cocoa, Cacao or Carob in any form #BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Lablabi - Tunisian Chickpea Soup

This is another Tunisian recipe for this month challenge with Mena which has my favorite harissa in it. This so delicious, light and hearty soup. We had this as a meal for supper and enjoyed it. The harissa in this soup gives a awesome flavor. Let's make this soup...

Servings 3
Ingredients

2 Cups Boiled Garbanzo beans / Chickpeas
2 Cloves Garlic - finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Harissa - homemade
1 Teaspoon Roasted Cumin powder
1 Onion - finely chopped
1 Veg Soup seasoning cube
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon Lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
Croutons  - homemade

Method

Wash the dried chickpeas and soak them in water overnight . Boil them with water to the level of the chickpeas in a pressure cooker till done (After a whistle on high flame, then on low flame for 8 - 10 minutes). 

In a pot heat a teaspoon of olive oil add garlic, onion and fry till onion is lightly softened. Then add the chickpeas, harissa,  cumin powder, soup seasoning and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes. To serve.. in a soup bowl lay croutons, ladle the soup on it add lemon juice and drizzle of olive oil.

Serve with extra Harissa and Croutons  . Enjoy this hot bowl of soup... delicious.. 

Labels : Chickpeas, Lentils, Tunisia, Soup, Mena Cooking Club, Lablabi

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