Puff Pastry Cinnamon Pretzels with Glazed Mango Jam

You do remember my recipe for Rough Puff Pastry don’t you? After those Chocolate Turnovers, these Pretzels were the outcome of that last bit of left over dough. I made quite a good sized batch of the puff pastry sheets that lasted in the freezer for over a week. Generally, Pretzels are yeasted, however its their characteristic shape that brings them their name. These Pretzels are hardly any effort and if I had to say just thaw the pastry sheet, cut, twist and bake, I would be knocked down for posting it here! So I jazzed it up a bit more by elegantly flavoring them with cinnamon sugar and baking them to crisp. That Aam Murabba glaze got them a complete makeover. Sinfully simple, yet deliciously yum!

Those are the Pretzels baking in the oven with all that sinful butter oozing out of the dough.

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Pretzels with Glazed Mango Jam

INGREDIENTS

1 sheet homemade puff pastry dough rolled, (or store bought)
1 tsp. homemade Aam murabba / Mango Jam
1 tsp. cinnamon powder
1 tbsp. powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the cinnamon along with sugar and set aside. Roll out the pastry sheet dough. Cut 1 inch thick, 6 cm long strips. Using your forefinger hold one end of the strip, while you use your other hand to twist the strip 2-3 times, circling to bring both the strips close to each other. Place it on the baking tray, tucking the edges neatly underneath. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on them and bake in a pre-heated oven to 25-30 mins, till golden brown and baked.

Allow them to cool down for 5 minutes. While still warm, slather some mango jam or homemade Aam murabba.

Warm, crisp and sinful with that slash of some jam, enjoy them with your cup of tea!

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Tambli: Fire Roasted Tomato and Fenugreek Tambli / South Indian Soup

If you thought why there were no updates here or if I went missing, let me tell you I was in my hometown recently. A nice long weekend spilling over Monday ensured another trip down to Mangalore. Long weekend spent in Mangalore during the Independence day followed by Eid gave us a well deserved break and good respite from daily chores of work and home. Adding to it, the fantastic coastal weather in Monsoons added a feather in the cap. If you've been down South visiting the coastal parts of Kerala and Karnataka during the monsoon you'll be smitten by the beauty of nature and vast greenery the rains bring in.

While in Mangalore, we often binge on dishes made with coconuts. Coconuts form an integral part of coastal cuisine since they grow in plenty in this region. With no doubts you can be assured that the juiciest and sweetest coconuts can be fetched from these coastal regions of our country. I have often shared my love and immense fondness for Tamblis in the past on my blog. I don't think I need to even stress saying that this particular soup / Tambli does list as one of my favorites. Pair it with a generous helping of rice, a papad or pickle to go with and you have the most humble meal for a warm afternoon.

Tambli: Fire Roasted Tomato and Fenugreek South Indian Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 large tomato
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp oil
1 tbsp fresh/frozen coconut
1 cup yogurt
3 red chillies
Salt to taste

For Tempering:

1 tsp. Oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1-2 whole red chillies
1 sprig of curry leaves

DIRECTIONS

Lightly oil the tomato and fire roast it on an open flame till the skin turns brown. Allow it to cool down. The skin will wilt as it cools, hence you should be able to peel them easily. Lightly roast the fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and red chillies till you get the roasted aroma from them. Don't let them brown a lot as they will turn bitter and lose the taste. It takes about a min or two. Cool and grind them along with the roasted tomatoes and coconut. Lightly beat the yogurt and this paste to it. Tamblis are usually thin and a little runny in consistency. So adjust by adding extra water if required to bring it to thinner consistency. Add salt to taste.

Temper the Tambli by seasoning it well. Heat a tsp of oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds. As they begin to pop, add in the red chillies and curry leaves. Let the curry leaves fry for half a minute or less. Pour this seasoning over the Tambli. Serve it cold over steaming hot rice.

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DIY: Rough Puff Pastry Dough Step-by-Step for quick Chocolate Turnovers

I don’t generally enjoy Danish rolls, Croissants or Strudels elsewhere as much I do here at my workplace. I presume it has to do with the freshness. There’s a fabulous bakery named Chocolate by La Terrace that serves one of the best bakes I have ever had. I call them the best since their bakes are fresh, bodied with flavor and authentic. And their freshly baked Pineapple Strudel and Apple Strudel is to die for. Really. For a tiny bakery that serves 20000 odd employees, I think they are doing a fabulous job!

For my mid-mornings, the bakery serves me just the right kind of snack to go along with my cup of tea. As you make your pick from all the sweet and savory items on display, the background brims with brisk work by the bakers busy mixing dough, filling tart cases, brushing glazes, pushing trays to life sized ovens, it’s a sight which most would ignore to glance. Sure enough, their wicker cane baskets loaded with baked goods, full of cakes, pastries, tarts, rolls and breads will make you more hungry than when you came through the door. And that smell of freshly baked goodies is so intoxicating, it gives you an all high and stimulates your senses.

From the glimpse of the bakers working in the background, I have often seen them put together the pastry dough from scratch effortlessly and as it tempts me more often to be a part of that activity or at least, capture them on pixels, I know that possibility is far from remote. It’s a passionate bakers delight to watch sheets of butter encased into a massive mass of rolled dough, enveloped and passed through automated commercial rollers couple of times to form perfect pastry sheets, all neatly folded and piled up to be refrigerated for further use. The process takes hardly anything more than 10 minutes.

Prior to this, I had never seen a live action of pastry dough being made from scratch, even getting a glimpse of this is so heartening that it calls out for the baker in me. For some time now, I have been contemplating to recreate a similar pastry dough at home. Of course minus all that commercial equipment, it’s an ardent task, good enough to consume an entire day, consume all my muscle power and drain all the energies. But then isn’t that daring enough for a try?

I didn’t have enough time to make pastry dough, but Gordan Ramsay’s Rough Puff Pastry recipe is an awesome substitute. A good recipe for a keeper, especially when you want a quick, light flaky pastry in minutes.

Gordon Ramsay's Rough Puff Pastry Dough

Adapted from BBC GoodFood

INGREDIENTS

250g strong plain flour
1 tsp. fine sea salt
250g butter, at room temperature, but not soft
About 150ml cold water

DIRECTIONS

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Roughly break the butter in small chunks or grate them, adding it to the flour.

Rub the grated butter into the flour very loosely. You need to see lots of streaks of butter.

Make a well in the bowl and pour in about two-thirds of the cold water, mixing until you have a firm rough dough adding very little extra water if needed.

Handle very gently. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 mins. in the fridge.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead lightly and form into a smooth rectangle. Roll the dough in one direction only, until 3 times the width, about 20 x 50cm. Keep edges straight and even. Don't overwork the butter streaks; you should have a marbled effect. Fold the top third down to the center.

Fold the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn (to the left or right) and roll out again to three times the length.

Fold as before, the top third down, the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn roll out again to three times the length. Repeat again. Cover with cling film and chill for at least 20 mins before rolling to use. If the dough ceases to act, then place it in the freezer immediately. Work on it after 10 minutes.

The puff pastry dough can be kept in the freezer for over a month. To use, bring the dough out and thaw it. Roll it and use as required.

Chocolate Turnovers

INGREDIENTS

1 thick chunk of dark chocolate
Puff pastry sheet of 15x15 cm

DIRECTIONS

Roll the puff pastry sheet to about 10x10cm in length and width. Place a chunk of dark chocolate, placing it closer to one end at about 3cm away from the centre. Lightly mark the pastry sheet to half and flip over the other half of dough over the chocolate, gently pressing along the edges to seal the sides. Bake in a pre-heated over at 180 deg for 30 minutes or till its golden brown.

Note: I've used dark chocolate here for the filling. You may use milk or white chocolate too. You can make a fruit filling or any other filling for this recipe. For a savoury version, use any vegetable filling of your choice. You can make these into any other shapes you like.

Enjoy these Chocolate Turnovers over a hot cup of tea.

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