Sooji(Semolina) Roti

I have never heard of this dish until I came across Cookspot's blog. I was wondering how Sooji(rava) will bind together without any flour. But to my surprise, they turned out soft and tasty. These are slightly thicker than regular rotis. If you are bored of Upma or dosas, try this recipe.

Ingredients:
Sooji(rava)-1 cup
Water-just enough to wet the sooji
Salt
Hing-a pinch
Ginger chopped-1/2 tsp
Green chilli chopped-1/4 tsp
Chilli powder-a pinch(optional)
Coriander leaves(Cilantro) chopped-1 tsp
Grated coconut-2 tbsp
Finely chopped onion-1/4 cup
Oil-2-3 tsp
Cumin seeds-1 tsp

Wet sooji with little water(1/4 cup approx) and let it stand for 10 minutes.
Add rest of the ingredients(except oil) and make a soft dough(without adding extra water). You should be able to roll into balls. If the mixture is very dry, add very little water.
Heat a pan, grease it with a drop of oil. Place a medium sized ball and pat it with your palm into thick roti. Drizzle oil along the edges of the roti. Cook on both sides till it turns soft(it cook fast, so keep an eye on it). Serve hot with chutney or sambar.

Note: They don't have to turn golden brown and crisp.

Georgia Gilmore & The Club from Nowhere

Rosa Parks & Martin Luther King

On the evening of December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American, was arrested for disobeying an Alabama law requiring black passengers to relinquish seats to white passengers when the bus was full. Her arrest sparked a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system and led to a 1956 Supreme Court decision banning segregation on public transportation.

Georgia Gilmore cooking

During the bus boycott that Rosa Parks triggered, a group of Montgomery, Ala., women baked and sold pies, cookies and cakes in beauty salons and on street corners to raise money to buy gas and station wagons to haul people to work The Club from Nowhere, as the group was known, was the brainchild of Georgia Gilmore, a cafeteria worker fired for her organizing efforts.

Georgia is one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights era.
Listen to our Hidden Kitchens radio story from 2005 - Georgia Gilmore & The Club from Nowhere.
For recipe and photos - visit the Hidden Kitchens web site. You can find Georgia Gilmore's recipes in our Hidden Kitchens Book.


Read an interview with Georgia from the Washington Film and Video Archive

Tarte au Chocolat

I like this rich chocolate tart especially its smooth and creamy texture. The chocolate filling has to be produced by a good quality of chocolate in order to get a rich and cremeuse (cremy) texture. I used 85% Lyndt chocolate for the tart and hazelnut paste that I bought from Sainsbury's. Its original recipe is actually arrange some chocolate curls on the tart but I'm quite lazy to do the chocolate curls so I toasted some chopped almond, hazelnut and walnut for the toppings.

Recipe from BBC Olive magazine:

Make 4 x 10" tartlets

For the pastry:

220g plain flour

110g unsalted butter

20g sugar powder
pinch of salt

2 egg yolk + 2 tbsp cold water

For the fillings:

275g hazelnut paste (or Nutella)

125g 70% dark chocolate, plus a block for brushing the pastry

300ml double cream

450ml milk

3 eggs, lightly beaten

some chocolate shavings or toasted nuts for topping

Making the tart case:

1. Mix the eggs yolks with 2 tbsp cold water stir with a fork until well combine.
2. Place the flour into the bowl of a food processor, followed by the cold butter and the salt. Turn the processor on and pulse several times until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add the egg yolk/water mixture and pulse again. Be careful not to overwork the pastry. Stop pulsing when the mixture has the consistency of chunky breadcrumbs.
4. Turn the pastry out onto a clean, floured work surface and, with floured hands, bring together to make a dough, but don't knead.
5. Shape into a flattened ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. You can keep the pastry at this stage for 2-3 days if not using it immediately.
6. Remove the pastry from the fridge. On a clean, floured work surface, roll it out with a floured rolling pin until it's slightly larger than the flan ring. Using the rolling pin, lift the pastry and lay it over the flan ring.
7. With your fingers, lightly press the pastry into the sides of the ring. Run a rolling pin over the top of the ring and pull away the excess pastry at the edges. Using your fingers, gently press the pastry up to slightly build up the height of the pastry at the edges. Line the tart with a piece of parchment and chill it for 20 minutes so it doesn't shrink when you cook it.
8. Heat the oven to 200'C. Add baking beans or rice and bake it for 15 minutes, then lift out the parchment and beans and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the pastry is dry and a good brown colour. You must cook and colour the pastry properly, once the chocolate goes it it won't colour any further. Turn the oven down to 160'C.

Making the filling

1. Put the hazelnut paste and chocolate in a bowl. Bring the cream and milk to a boil and pour it over., mix everything together with a whisk until you have a smooth liquid.
2. Whisk in the eggs. At this point you'll find it hard to believe that the filling will set but it will end up with a beautiful creamy texture.

Putting the tart together

1. Melt a little chocolate and use it to brush the inside of the tart, this will make the pastry leak-proof and stop it from going soggy. The secret to this bit is to brush the tart while it i still warm so the chocolate soaks in and fills any little cracks.
2. Put the tart back on the oven shelf and pour in the filling right up to the top. Cook for 40 minutes, the tart should still be very wobbly but not liquid. Once its completely cool down, it'll set.
3. Top with chocolate curls or toasted nuts.