Focaccia Caprese Recipe - How to Make Focaccia Bread - Step by Step

Learn how to make Focaccia Caprese, a type of focaccia bread that has fresh tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella topping. It's quite similar to the margarita pizza if you look at just the ingredients but a focaccia is baked differently than a traditional pizza and this version has a delicious herb oil that really makes the focaccia taste amazing.

A traditional focaccia, which is also on my to-bake list, usually just has (lots of) olive oil, garlic, and herbs often kneaded into the dough before being baked into a flat bread. Today there are variations with different toppings that makes it almost similar to pizza. That's really nothing to complain about though, is it? Focaccia, however, is distinct in one way though and that's the oily crust that it bakes up into. Since olive oil is used very liberally, it develops a lovely crunchy crust on the bread and makes it taste amazing, especially with dips, or even on its own.

I went and bought a good 'ball' of buffalo mozzarella and a fresh pack of Italian basil to bake this Focaccia Caprese. Some gorgeous truss tomatoes sealed the deal and I knew this was going to be one amazing loaf of bread. We had it as a light meal at brunch time and it went perfectly with some sriracha sauce. Maybe this is a good time to mention that we eat sriracha sauce with pretty much anything.

Anyway, I strongly urge you to bake this focaccia bread at the next given opportunity. It's pretty easy to put together as far as breads go and there's no pressure of creating a fluffy and airy loaf that rises well because this is a flat bread. The only thing I'd suggest is to eat it warm out of the oven, much like a pizza.

If you'd rather just make a pizza, then check out my 30-min pizza recipe. It's really really good. Or, browse all bread recipes in Edible Garden. These garlic pull-apart rolls are probably the most popular bread recipe in the site and lots of people have tried it with good success.

FOCACCIA CAPRESE RECIPE

Preparation time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes 2 large loaves
Serves 4-6
Recipe source: Kitchen Whisperer, adapted by Aparna

INGREDIENTS:
3.5 cups of bread flour (see notes)
1/4 cup of olive oil + another 1 tbsp for brushing
2 tsp of instant yeast
1.5 tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
1 cup of warm water (you may need a bit more)
For the topping:
4 large tomatoes, sliced thin
One 7" ball of buffalo mozzarella, sliced into 1/4" discs (see notes)
1/4 cup of packed basil leaves, cut into strips
For the herb oil:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1.5 tsp of mixed herbs like basil, oregano, etc
1/2 tsp of red chilli flakes
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add all ingredients for dough except water into the bowl of a stand mixer and using the dough hook on slow speed, mix until combined.

With the machine running, add the warm water until the dough comes together into a ball just short of sticky. Knead for about 3 mins. You can add more water if needed, I only needed this much.

You can definitely do this step by hand too. Just make sure to knead well for about 5 mins. The dough will be a bit sticky and that's perfect.

2. Lightly oil a bowl and shape the dough into a ball with your hands before transferring it to the bowl. Turn it around until all sides are lightly coated with the oil. Cover with cling wrap or a plastic bag and leave in a warm place until almost doubled in size.

Like so. This took me one hour but if you live in a warmer place, it may take lesser.

3. Punch the dough down gently and transfer to a lined baking tray. You can use greasing paper (parchment paper) or baking sheets like I have to line the tray. Gently shape into an oblong shape, oval ore rectangular (whatever you prefer) by pressing down with your fingertips. Make sure the thickness is uniformly about 1/2". Then, using your fingertips, dig holes into the dough all over.

4. Brush with olive oil and let this rise loosely covered for another 20-30 mins. The dough will puff up just a bit but won't rise much due to the holes we dug.

5. Pre-heat oven to 200C (400F) and bake this for about 15-20 mins or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, make the herb oil and set aside by combining all ingredients.

6. Once the first round of baking is down and the focaccia is lightly browned, remove from oven and drizzle half the herb oil all over it uniformly.

7. Layer the cheese over this as uniformly as possible

followed by the tomato slices. You can layer them up thicker by overlapping them or just distribute them evenly. Either ways, make sure to cover the surface of the bread as much as possible.

Add the chopped basil leaves on top and drizzle the remaining oil over this. Bake again (same temperature as above) for about 8-10 mins or until the cheese has melted and the basil has crisped up.

Slice with a pizza cutter and serve warm.

Notes:

1. If you cannot find bread flour, you can add 1 tbsp of Vital Wheat Gluten to 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and mix together well. Otherwise just use 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour which is what I did
2. If you are unable to find fresh mozzarella, use the sliced version or any pizza cheese that's available. Taste will be different but delicious, I am sure
3. I halved the recipe above and got enough to serve 2 as a light meal
4. This Focaccia Caprese is bread #1 for 2014 being baked by the We Knead to Bake group on Facebook. Huge thanks to Aparna for managing the group and for the detailed recipe

Dosa Batter With Urad Flour & Rice Flour (No-Grind Dosa Batter Recipe)

Learn how to make a quick almost-instant batter with urad dal flour and rice flour. This readymade batter does need fermenting but you can avoid the soaking and grinding of urad dal and rice following this easy dosa batter recipe.

I was telling Amma the other day about how it's been challenging to get my dosa batter to ferment in Sydney, even in the summer. I follow the usual trick of leaving it in the oven with the light on and there are some signs of fermentation to be seen the next day but not as much as I am used to in Singapore and India.

Somehow this conversation turned to using urad dal flour to make dosa batter. This recipe doesn't really get around the step of fermentation but you can save a lot of time since there's no soaking and grinding involved like in regular dosa batter preparation method. I was intrigued enough to try it so that's exactly what I did. I only needed to buy a packet of unroasted urad dal flour which is easily available in Indian stores here. If you can't find it in stores, just finely grind whole, skinned (white) urad dal and you are good to go.

Verdict: the batter barely fermented although there was a fair bit of bubbles in it after leaving it overnight in a warm place. The dosas turned out beautiful and golden brown and tasted adequately nice. Nothing can compare to a proper homemade dosa made the right way but considering how easy it was to put this batter together, I will not complain. So if you want to avoid grinding dosa batter but want something better than readymade dosa batter powder, then this is it. You just need 3 ingredients and very little work is involved.

Check out how to make idli batter and dosa batter recipe in case you want to do it the 'proper' way. If you are more of an instant dosa person, then you may like this instant rava dosa recipe or instant wheat dosa recipe.

DOSA WITH URAD FLOUR AND RICE FLOUR

Preparation time: 8 hours
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes ~ 15 dosas

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of unroasted urad dal flour
3 cups of rice flour
1.5 tsp of salt (adjust to taste)
3-4 tsp of sesame oil (gingelly oil)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix the urad dal flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl.

2. Add enough water in small additions to make a thick batter. Keep mixing as you add water.

3. You should have a lump free thick batter. Cover with a plate and set aside in a warm place for 8 hours or overnight for fermenting.

4. My batter didn't rise much but was quite bubbly and airy the next day morning.

5. Before making the dosas, add more water to get the right consistency. The batter should be easily pourable yet on the thicker side (apologize for the difference in colour, it's due to the change in lighting - my kitchen has very little natural light).

6. Shape your dosas and cook as normal, drizzling some sesame oil as you go.

7. Cook both sides until golden brown.

Serve hot. The dosas turn a bit rubbery if you keep them for long after cooking so they are best eaten hot. I served mine with drumstick sambar and dosa milagai podi.

You can keep the batter refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Easy Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk - Coconut Milk Chicken Curry Recipe

Learn how to make a basic and easy Indian-style chicken curry with coconut milk and spices. This is a relatively mild chicken curry recipe that's fabulous because it goes with everything - rice, chapati, pulao, dosa, appam, puttu, etc.

There are so many variations to a coconut milk chicken curry and this is my own. There's nothing special or majorly different in this recipe than the base of most Indian curries but I do like my chicken curry in a particular way, and this is it. While generally my Indian non-vegetarian recipes are on the spicier side, both heat-wise and spice-wise, I like to keep coconut based curries on the milder side. That tends to brings out the flavour and sweetness of coconut milk which really should be the star in such recipes. I also like to keep tang to a minimum and so add tomatoes for the colour than for any major flavour.

You can adapt this chicken curry with coconut milk recipe in many different ways to suit your palates and I have mentioned some variations below, while I explain the flow of how I make it. If you use canned or packaged coconut milk, this is a very easy dish to put together in under 30 mins. Making your own coconut milk will obviously elevate the flavour of the curry but it's not essential in this dish, in my opinion. Since I like the gravy to be a bit on the thicker side, I used ground poppy seed paste, something that is unavailable in Singapore and so more used and appreciated in Sydney :) TH and I have different choices (he's a vegetarian) and we rarely comment on each other's choices but after making this chicken curry, I told him for the first time that I wish he could taste it.

I have a few more chicken recipes in the site and my favourites are dry chilli chicken, Kerala chicken curry, and butter chicken masala. Try them! You can also check out how to make coconut milk at home.

CHICKEN CURRY WITH COCONUT MILK

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Recipe: My own

INGREDIENTS:
250 gm of cleaned and cubed chicken pieces
1 cup of sliced onions
2 tbsp of oil (I use coconut oil)
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tsp of cumin powder
2 tsp of coriander powder
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
1" piece of ginger
2 green chillies (adjust to taste)
2 flakes of garlic
A few cubes of ripe tomato
1 tbsp of poppy seeds, soaked for 15 mins (see notes)
2 cups of thin coconut milk (see notes)
1 cup of thick coconut milk
A small bunch of chopped coriander leaves, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a wide pan and add the sliced onions. Fry until golden brown (they need to brown a bit more than in the picture below).

2. Grind the green chillies, garlic, and ginger together coarsely.

3. Add the spice powders - chilli, coriander, cumin, and turmeric - to the fried onions. Saute for 20 seconds.

4. Now add the ground chilli paste and tomatoes to the above. Fry again for a minute, the mixture will turn fragrant.

5. Add the cleaned chicken pieces to this,

along with the thin coconut milk + 1 more cup of water. Add salt. Bring this to boil.

6. Meanwhile, grind the soaked poppy seeds in 2-3 tbsp water into a smooth paste. I use the same grinder as I used for chilli paste.

Add poppy seed paste to the curry and when it comes to boil, lower heat and cook closed for 15-20 mins or until the chicken pieces are cooked. The gravy will also thicken a bit.

7. On low heat, add the thick coconut milk and mix well.

8. Do not boil for too long after the thick coconut milk is added. If you feel the gravy is too watery, boil the curry in an open pan before adding the thick coconut milk. Once it's heated through and just begins to boil, add the chopped coriander leaves, adjust salt, and remove from flame.

Serve hot!

Variations and Notes:

1. You can add more tomatoes if you want or omit it completely
2. If you want a 'whiter' curry, omit the chilli powder and increase amount of green chillies, to taste
3. I use poppy seeds as a gravy thickener. Other options are to use cashew nut paste (soaked cashew nuts ground with water) or more thick coconut milk or coconut cream
4. You can use curry leaves as garnish instead of coriander leaves but avoid using both
5. You can try this same recipe with chicken pieces with bone. It's hard for me to find that kind cleaned and prepared so I always opt for chicken breast. Adjust cooking time according to size of chicken pieces
6. You can make a vegetarian version of this curry by substituting chicken with soya chunks, potatoes, or a mixture of both. A mix of vegetables may also turn out well
7. Regarding thin and thick coconut milk - if using canned coconut milk, buy full cream variety (not the low fat or whatever) and for the 2 cups thin milk, dilute with 1:1 water. When you need to add the thick coconut milk, add it as is. Check this post if making coconut milk at home

For chicken curry with coconut milk recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, etc, please use Google translate button in the sidebar.

Chick Peas Masala with Capsicum

Have you ever tried white chick peas with capsicum? Try this recipe, this combination results in a very tasty dish.



Ingredients:

• Chick peas : Two tins(400 gm each)
• Red capsicum : Half (cut in length-wise)
• Yellow capsicum : Half (cut in length-wise)
• Green capsicum : Half (cut in length-wise)
• Potato : 1 large (cut in length-wise)
• Garlic : 5 cloves (minced)
• Ginger : 1 tbsp (minced)
• Yogurt : 2 tbsp
• Onion : 2 medium (sliced)
• Tomato : 1 large (sliced)
• Green chillies : 2
• Red chilli powder : 1 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder : 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds : 1 tsp 
• Dried fenugreek leaves : 1 tsp
• Salt : 1 tsp
• Oilve pomace oil : as needed
• Garam masala : 1 tsp

Directions:

• Heat oil in a wok and add onions into it. Stir it until golden brown
• Add garlic and ginger into it and give a stir
• Add red chili powder, salt, cumin seeds and turmeric powder into it along with very little water
• Add tomato into it and stir until tomato becomes soft
• Add tin chick peas and stir it for 5 minutes
• Add yogurt and stir till it gets absorbed
• Add all capsicums and stir the mixture for 5 minutes
• Add green chilli and dried fenugreek leaves into it
• Add one cup of water and cover it after one boil on a low flame for 10 minutes
• Sprinkle garam masala and green coriander and its ready to serve

Beetroot Leaves Dal - Masoor Dal Recipe with Beet Leaves

Learn how to use beetroot leaves in cooking this simple masoor dal recipe that's a great side dish for roti, chapati, and pulao. Wondering if beetroot leaves are edible and if you can use them in cooking? Yes, you can! Check out this easy recipe with beetroot leaves and make a great vegetarian dish that's healthy too!

Sydney has a lot of great fresh product markets and I am lucky enough to live close to Orange Grove Markets which is a great Saturday morning farmers market that primarily focuses on fresh organic produce and food. The first time I visited, I went crazy buying all the organic greens I could find. I also bought a bunch of gorgeous beetroots with their leaves still fresh and intact. They were dug up the previous day so even the mud on the roots was still moist!

I had never seen beets so fresh let alone with their leaves and roots intact so I was determined to put the bunch to good use. I knew beet leaves were edible but had no idea what to cook with beetroot leaves so a simple dal seemed to the best idea. Can't go wrong with that!

While fresh green beetroot leaves are definitely edible and great to cook with, cleaning it does take some extra effort. Since they were organic, I wasn't worried about washing away the chemicals and pesticides but there is a lot of mud towards the bottom of the stem and that needs careful cleaning because, really, no one likes extra sandy texture in their dals :) Since I had a lot of greens, I made a thick sabzi-like dal with less masoor dal and more greens. You can adapt the consistency to your preference and make it more watery too. Treat beetroot leaves just like spinach when you cook with them, I am sure they taste great in other recipes if you substitute them for spinach.

Paired with a simple pulao, beetroot leaves dal made a fabulous side dish for lunch that Saturday.

BEETROOT LEAVES MASOOR DAL RECIPE

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:
6 cups of packed chopped beetroot leaves
3/4 cup of masoor dal (red lentils)
1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp of oil
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of minced garlic or garlic paste
A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp of red chilli powder
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tsp of garam masala (optional)
1 tsp of ghee (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. First we need to clean the beetroot leaves. Chop off the beets from the stems using a sharp knife.

2. Chop up the stems and leaves coarsely. You will end up with a mound of chopped greens.

3. Transfer this to a large bowl with water. The water should be enough to completely cover the beet leaves and for them to float, so use a large enoug bowl. . Gently agitate the chopped leaves with your fingers, giving it a good swish in the water. Let it sit for 5 mins or so.

4. Gently take fistfuls of the beet leaves and transfer to another bowl. Continue to skim the leaves away and move to another bowl, squeezing out the water as you do this.

5. You'll be left with a good amount of mud at the bottom once all the leaves are out and you drain the water. Repeat the above steps until the water runs clear, I had to do it thrice. Set the beet leaves in a colander to drain out the water as you proceed to make the dal.

6. Heat a large pan and add the oil, cumin, and garlic. Roast for a minute and then the hing, give it 5 mins and then the tomatoes.

7. Once the tomatoes turn a bit soft, add the washed beet leaves.

8. Top this up with washed and rinsed masoor dal, turmeric, chilli powder, and some salt. Add 2 cups of water to this.

9. Mix well and cook covered on low flame for about 10-12 mins or until the dal is cooked soft and mushy.

Masoor dal takes little time to cook, that's why I chose it to make this dish with it. Add more salt if required and adjust the water to your preferred consistency. These measurements will give you a thick-ish dal with more greens than dal. Add the ghee and garam masala if you are using them and give it another good stir. Remove from fire.

Serve masoor dal with beetroot leaves with jeera pulao or chapatis for a delicious and healthy meal.

Edited to add: some readers have shared that washing the leaves whole is easier and preserves more nutrition. On the nutrition part, I concur since I am no expert on nutrition beyond the basic stuff born out of common sense. On the ease part, I wash spinach and pretty much all other leaves whole but with beet leaves, I wasn't able to get all the mud and sand out the first time I tried that and ended up biting into sand in a sabzi I made. This method was more effective. Use your discretion, folks :)