Golden onion quiche

I have always wanted to join a regular cooking event. One that would compel me to make challenging recipes every now and then. But most of the events were either closed to newcomers, or they were too challenging for a beginner like me. Nada is the one who told me about this event, A Sweet Punch, which started a few months back. A Sweet Punch is just what I have been looking for.

So, when I heard about it, I was so excited, I quickly sent them a mail asking them to make me a member. I recieved a mail the same evening, and I was so glad to be a part of this event. But the immediate next mail almost gave me a heart attack. It read "Savoury September: Golden Onion Quiche"....

FLASHBACK

I am in 5th grade. I decide to make a lemon tart pie all by myself. I prepare the base and press it into a pyrex dish. I squeeze the lemons for making the pastry cream. And then I begin grating the rind of the lemon peel. It is so difficult, I decide to simply cut the peel into cubes and add them to the cream. The pie turns out really bitter and the tart base refuses to come out of the dish.

I am in 8th grade. My aunt, Noorialama is coming to visit us and I decide to make a chocolate tart for her. I follow the instructions word-to-word. The tart turns out too sweet and the base is crumbly and "buttery".

I am in 9th grade. I am simply going through my dictionary, trying to learn new words(Yeah, I know. I was so jobless!!). I come upon this word, Quiche[kee-sh] which refers to a rich unsweetened custard pie, often containing ingredients such as vegetables, cheese, or seafood. I was excited to try it out. I surf on the net, trying to find a recipe. After a lot of searching, I had an idea of how it should be and decide to make my own quiche, using the basic quiche ingredients. Fearing that the quiche may not come out of the pan, I line the pan with a parchment paper. The end product smelt of eggs and the parchment paper stuck to the base. I resolve never to bake anything that has a tart shell. 

I am in 10th grade. My aunt, Jeshalama sends me a lemon squares recipe by Martha Stewart and asks me my opinion on the recipe. I decide to try it out despite being skeptical about it. The lemon squares couldn't be better. They were the perfect treat for a lemon-lover(which I am not, but this is what Nada told me). Anyway, I decide that this would be my last tart.

Back to reality

I really didn't know what to do. But Nada's encouraging words gave me the himmat to accept the challenge. Ria had posed this challenge. Nada has been blog-surfing alot lately and Ria's blog is one of the few blogs that she follows religiously. She keeps telling me that Ria's bro is so lucky and that she wishes she too had a sis who would prepare goodies for her everyday(obviously referring to me).

Coming back to the quiche, another problem I faced was the pan. I wanted a tart pan with a removable base, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Last Sunday, I accepted defeat and decided to use my regular round cake tin.

The preparation was quite easy.

First, sieve maida, baking powder and salt. I like to use a newspaper while sieving. It reduces the number of dishes to be washed and is great for the messy cook in me.

                                            

Then I added frozen butter cubes, though the recipe called for grated butter.

                                           

Mix it well to form a crumbly dough.

                                          

Add in the eggs and cold water if required---I didn't.

                                           

Form a soft dough. Turn it onto a lightly floured surface.

                                           

Roll it so that it is a little larger than your tart pan base.

                                          

Now comes the tricky part- transferring the dough into the pan. Everytime I lift it, the dough would fall apart. Finally I cut them into 4 quarters and joined them in the pan. Trust me, once it is baked, no one will know it . ;) You are supposed to trim the edges, but I did not have any loose dough hanging outside the pan.

                                           

Keep it aside. In a saucepan, heat some olive oil.

                                           

Add chicken or whatever you wish. You could use paneer, mushrooms, veggies....you name it.

                                             

Next, I added sliced onions, though the recipe called for diced ones. Saute it till it becomes golden brown. I know, mine are not caramelised, but I was too lazy. So, I was satisfied with this colour. And yeah, I added some salt while sauteeing to speed up the "browning" process.

                                            

Beat 3 eggs. Mix with milk and mozrella cheese. Pour into the onion mixture, along with a generous sprinkling of pepper. Pour this into the quiche pan.

                                            

Bake till a skewer poked into the center of the quiche comes out clean. Remember, undercooking the quiche will give you a quiche smelling of eggs.

                                           

Cut them into wedges and serve.

      

Verdict: A very filling dish. Had it for Iftar. Tasted better the next day. Definitely a keeper.

GOLDEN ONION QUICHE

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
Maida -200g
Butter (frozen) -100g (preferably unsalted)
Baking powder-1/4 tsp
Salt-to taste
Beaten egg-1
Ice cold water-as required ( which will be a few drops)
Sieve maida ,salt and baking powder together. Grate in the butter and mix it with the flour with your fingertips till it resembles coarse sand.
Add in the beaten egg and water and gather it into a soft dough.
Roll it out on a lightly floured surface and lift it up carefully and line the tin that you will be baking it in.If it breaks up and you need to do a patch work, big deal! It wouldn't be seen outside! ;)
Which ever tin you are using, make sure the dough comes a little way up the sides, so that it can hold the filling in.

Filling:
Boiled and shredded chicken-1/2 c ( you can substitute it for paneer or other veggies of your choice)
Onion-250 g ,chopped
Milk-1 c
Cheese-100g (cheddar will work fine)
Beaten eggs-3
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil- as needed.

Heat oil and slightly fry the chicken/paneer til it is golden brown. Add in the onions and fry till onions have caramelised.
Switch off the flame.
Add milk, cheese, beaten eggs, salt and pepper and mix well.
Pour into the pastry case and bake for 25 mins or till golden brown .
Let it cool in the tin completely . Serve it in wedges.

Blueberry cake

Among other items, Nada had brought a box of blueberries when she came down to India. Jeshalama had sent it through her. We tasted a couple of them. Though they tasted good, they weren't the type type of fruit you would want to nibble on through out the day. So into the freezer went the berries, and it hibernated in there till yesterday morning, when I, Nada and Hiba dada, 3 jobless teens, decided to make something out of it. Nada quickly went online and chose a blueberry cake recipe, that looked awesome(link added). We decided to prepare it, copied down the recipe, checked if all the ingredients were at home, and that was it. Our energy had drained out and we kept saying that we'll do it after sometime. Finally we began the preparatons at 8 in the night. We had a fun time working together. Finally the batter was ready and we poured it into the square pan. We realised that the batter had formed a thin layer in the pan, which meant the pan was too large. "Don't worry. The cake will rise and become fluffy" said Nada in a confident tone, which set us into fits of laughter. Next, we sprinkled blueberries. Then came the streusel topping. Frankly seaking, none of us had any idea as to what does it mean. We simply sprinkled pea-sized portions of the topping all over the cake and popped it into the oven. After half an hour, when took a look at the half-baked cake ,I couldn't help exclaiming "WOW". The streusel topping had melted and looked amazing. The cake was ready by around 10:40 and the pan was empty by 11:15. Heehee, that must be a record time. Everyone enjoyed the cake, the soft and spongy cake, topped by sweet n' sour blueberries and a crisp streusel topping...what more could you ask for?

Ingredients:

Streusel Topping:

1/3 cup (45 grams) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (56 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I used salted butter)

Cake Batter:
1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt (I used salted butter and thus did not use additional salt)
1/4 cup (56 grams) (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
2 cups fresh blueberries (I used 1 1/2 cups)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Butter an 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) square pan or an 8 inch (20 cm) round cake pan or line it with parchment paper.
For streusel topping: In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and ground cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside while you make the cake batter.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture, alternately with the milk, and beat only until combined. Spread the batter onto the bottom of the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
Evenly arrange the blueberries on top of the cake batter and then sprinkle with the streusel topping.
Bake for about 40 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chicken Lajawab

Chicken- 1, cut into small pieces
Onions- 6, big, sliced
Ghee- 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds- 2 tbsp, roasted and powdered
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tbsp
Green chilli paste- 2 tbsp
Garama masala powder- 1 tbsp
Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
Tomatoes- 2 medium, peeled
Curds- 1/2 cup
Cashewnuts- 1/2 cup
Kasoori methi- 1 tbsp
Salt
Method:
Marinate chicken in 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, little curds and salt for 15
minutes. Saute onion till brown. Cool and blend with tomatoes.
Heat ghee in a kadhai. Add green chilli paste. Stir for a while. Add ginger
garlic paste and fry till aroma comes. Add garam masala and cumin seeds.
Saute for 2 minutes. Add onion tomato paste, chicken and salt. When chicken
is cooked, add cashew nut paste. Let it boil. When it boils, add 2 tbsp ghee
at the center of the gravy.When ghee melts, add kasoori methi.
Optional: Wash and heat a piece of charcoal on direct flame. When spark
comes, add it to the curry. Remove charcoal before serving.

Kadala pozcichathu(fried dal snack)

Soufanammai prepared this one. It is a simple evening snack that you can keep munching into and never get tired of.

Ingredients:

• Split gram dal- 500 gm
• Rice(paccheri)- 2 cup
• Egg - 1
• Salt- to taste
• Maida- 1/4-1/2 cup (if needed)

Method:

• Blend rice, egg and salt with a little water in a blender until it forms a not-so-wattery batter.Add a little maida if it gets wattery.
• Pour a little batter into a bowl.Add some dal. The dal should be well coated by the batter.

• Fry in hot oil on high flame.
• Remove the dal when it becomes hard and gets a light golden colour. Remember not to add all the dal into the batter in one go, add only as much is needed to make in one batch.