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SIMIT BREAD



    Turkish breakfast was served to the family on the weekend as I was so tempted to try making this Simit bread which was always at the back of my mind since I visited Istanbul few years back. You will see those street vendors standing or rolling up their carts through the streets or bazaars to sell this amazing looking bread which is their livelihood.


    Simit is a twisted circular bread, typically dunked in molasses and encrusted with sesame seeds or, less commonly, poppy, flax or sunflower seeds. This is found across the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East. Its also known as Gevrek, Bokeh, or Koulouri. The size of the bread, its crunch, chewiness, and other characteristics vary slightly by region. They are typically served in the breakfast with lebnah, salad, fresh fruit jams, honey, olives etc.


    I made the classical version of this bread, encrusted with toasted sesame seeds. Served the Simit with the Turkish lebnah which was dabbed with chilli infused burnt butter. Alongside that was the shakshuka made by my daughter. Man the whole combo was delicious!


    Saffron, rose petal and camomile infused tea was also served in the Turkish tea glasses. Bought these beautiful hour glass shaped tea cups(very typical to Turkey) back in Sydney from a Turkish grocery cum crockery shop. Had them with me over 2 decades, still pretty intact after number of transits and so many years of traveling to different continents and countries, but as soon as I finished shooting for the spread, one of the saucers broke. It was heart breaking! 😔


    Follow the step by step recipe below and try making these interesting looking delicious breads at home which is pretty simple and easy to make. Bake your own bread at home during these interesting times. Stay home, stay safe!



    YIELDS: 10

    PREP TIME: 20 minutes

    BAKE TIME: 25 minutes

    PASSIVE TIME: 1 hour


    INGREDIENTS


    • 2 cups warm water

    • 1 tbsp sugar

    • 1 tbsp instant yeast

    • 5 cups all purpose flour plus 2 tbsp extra for dusting and kneading

    • 2 tsp salt

    • 1/4 cup olive oil

    • 250g/ 1 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted

    • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses

    • 2/3 cup water, extra



    METHOD


    1. In a stand mixer bowl, fitted with the hook attachment, pour 1 cup of warm water, add sugar and yeast, let it rest for 10 minutes until the yeast becomes foamy.

    2. Add olive oil and the second cup of warm water to the foamy yeast water and add 2 cups of flour. On a medium low speed, mix the dough until no dry bits of flour are visible. Let it stand for 20 minutes.

    3. Now gradually add rest of the flour in increments along with salt until a dough ball is formed wrapped around the hook. If required, add bit more flour to the dough if your dough is bit loose and sticky.

    4. Remove it on a lightly floured surface, knead it for 5 minutes to smoothen it. Tucking the seam side down, place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with damp kitchen towel or lightly oiled cling film. Leave it for an hour at a warm place in kitchen and let it rise double in size.

    5. Once the dough is fermented, transfer it to the lightly floured surface, divide the dough in 10 equal parts. Cover them with a kitchen towel to prevent them from drying.

    6. Take a piece of dough, drop it on a non-floured surface. Now roll it back and forth with your hands and make a long thin rope, about 2 feet long. Bend it in half from the center and hold the two loose ends together in one hand and twist the rope with your other hand to make the twisted rope. Now join the two ends together, slightly overlapping each other and make a circle/ring. To secure the loose ends, hold the dough ring from the top with one hand and with the other hand roll it back and forth to make it tight and secured.

    7. Repeat step 6 with rest of the dough pieces. Cover with kitchen towel and while working on the other pieces of dough.

    8. In a large bowl, mix pomegranate molasses and water to prepare the bath for the bread.

    9. Now dunk the bread in molasses water bath and dip them in toasted sesame seeds on both sides. Place it on the baking tray. Repeat the step for the other breads and let it prove for 30 minutes.

    10. Bake the bread in preheated oven at 180° C for 25-30 minutes.



    COOK'S NOTES:


    • Serve these with chilli infused burnt butter lebnah, olives, jams, honey and shakshuka for a scrumptious Turkish breakfast.

    • Make the healthier version of the same bread by replacing the all purpose flour with the wholemeal flour.


    DAWAT-E-BAINGAN



      Eggplants are an often overlooked vegetable, but I just love to eat them in any form. Thought of converting this humble and under appreciated vegetable into something exotic and delicious.


      I created this dish with a combination of flavours from India and Middle East, using ingredients such as chaat masala, coriander, ginger and green chilies, alongside dates and pine nuts.

      It’s such a simple dish to make but it tastes really delectable and regal, hence I named them Dawat-e-Baingan - dawat means royal feast, and baingan means eggplant!


      I hope you enjoy this simply delicious recipe.




      YIELDS: 24

      PREP TIME: 20 minutes

      BAKE TIME: 20 minutes

      ASSEMBLE TIME: 8 hours or overnight



      INGREDIENTS


      • 10-12 baby eggplants

      • 250g dates, chopped

      • 2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped

      • 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped

      • 3-4 tbsp lemon juice

      • 4 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

      • 3/4 tsp salt or to taste

      • 1 1/2 tsp chat masala

      • 3 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted

      • 1/4 cup fresh pomegranate seeds

      • 3-4 tbsp rapeseed oil/vegetable or sunflower oil

      • Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

      • Salt for seasoning


      For Garnishing:

      • 1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

      • 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds

      • 1 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted


      METHOD


      1. Wash, pat dry and cut the eggplants in half lengthwise along with stalks.

      2. Grease a large baking dish with the rapeseed oil, place the eggplants facing cut side up. Season them well with salt and pepper. Generously drizzle some more oil on top to coat well.

      3. Bake in preheated oven at 225°C for 20 minutes or until they are tender and cooked. Remove from oven and let it cool.

      4. In a bowl, combine dates, green chillies, ginger, lemon juice, pomegranate, pine nuts, salt, chat masala and coriander. Mix them well to make the stuffing. Check the seasoning, add more if you need any extra.

      5. Take the eggplant half, press the center with the back of a small spoon to make a cavity, put a small amount of stuffing on top. Repeat with rest of the eggplant halves.

      6. Place them on serving tray and garnish with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and chopped coriander leaves.


      COOK'S NOTES:


      • If you are serving these in a dinner party, eggplants can be baked ahead of time and kept aside to be assembled later.

      • The stuffing can be prepared without adding coriander, pomegranate seeds and pine nuts. Add these at last minutes to savour the crunch and freshness of the herb.


      BEETROOT CARPACCIO SALAD



        Beetroot carpaccio is the vegetarian version of the classical Italian recipe of carpaccio which is prepared with thin slices of raw beef dressed with a vinaigrette using olive oil, lemon, capers, and even mustard is added for bit of a kick.


        This beetroot carpaccio salad is an impressive yet effortless appetizer salad which is so fresh, healthy and delicious. It’s one of those recipes that barely requires any cooking but still looks like a million bucks on the table.


        Beetroots are packed with essential nutrients and are a great source of fibre, folic acid, vitamin B6, iron, potassium, magnesium and many more.


        Recently I was detected with low iron deficiency and I was kind of worried. Started googling, reading and searching about the best natural sources of food to enhance the levels of the deficiency and found that beetroot is an amazing vegetable which contains nitrates and pigments that helps in increasing the blood flow.

        During this lockdown I ordered my bulk quantity of the veggies from the vendors and I had a large bag full of beautiful beetroots and I still had some organic arugula leaves growing in my garden. I paired it with orange vinaigrette which adds the beautiful sweet citrusy note to this refreshing summery salad. I served it with some grilled sumac and za’atar chicken and hassle back potatoes and everyone in the family was thrilled and thoroughly enjoyed the feast.



        SERVES: 4-5

        PREP TIME: 10 minutes

        BAKE TIME: 1 hour

        PASSIVE TIME: 1 hour

        ASSEMBLE TIME: 10 minutes



        INGREDIENTS


        • 3 medium beetroot

        • 4 cups/1 bunch Arugula leaves, washed and spin dried

        • 40g feta cheese

        • 40g hazelnuts, toasted & roughly chopped


        For Orange Vinaigrette:

        • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

        • 3 tsp lime juice

        • 1 tsp grated ginger

        • 1/2 small navel orange, zested and juiced (2tbsp of juice)

        • 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

        • 1/3 tsp salt or to taste

        • Dash of freshly cracked black pepper


        METHOD


        1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

        2. Wash the beetroots and wrap them individually in a piece of foil.

        3. Place them on a baking tray and bake them for an hour.

        4. Cool completely and gently peel off the skin.

        5. Slice them thinly with the help of a mandoline or a sharp knife.

        6. Arrange the slices on a platter, slightly overlapping each other.

        7. Mix all the ingredients of the orange vinaigrette to prepare the dressing.

        8. Sprinkle half of the vinaigrette dressing on the arranged beetroot slices. Place arugula leaves in the center, sprinkle feta cheese and toasted hazelnuts, drizzle rest of the dressing on top of arugula leaves and serve immediately.


        COOK'S NOTES:


        • Beetroots can be baked and kept wrapped in the refrigerator for 2 days. Cool them completely before placing in the refrigerator.

        • Dress the beetroots only at the last minute before serving else the beetroot will sweat and the arugula salad leaves will wilt and won’t stay fresh and crisp.

        • I added ginger in my vinaigrette but you can always skip it if you don’t like the flavour.

        • Prepare vinaigrette few hours ahead or a day before and refrigerate. This will intensify the flavours and make it more delicious.

        • I don’t prefer to boil the beetroot as all essential nutrients and deep colour of beetroot is lost. Always try and bake them wrapped in foil to ensure all the nutrients are still intact.


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