Roti Bread

I came across a really simple recipe for one of my favorite Indian foods, Roti bread, today and thought I'd give it a try. As an "Everything But The...Oil" recipe, it went to bat in the test kitchen to see if it was easy and delicious enough to be considered for our product line.

For some reason I always thought Roti would be a difficult bread to make but the recipe has only six ingredients, almost all of which most people keep in their kitchens already.

The recipe I used called for Garam Masala as the spice addition but I didn't have it on hand, so I substituted with some curry powder. The curry powder still produced delicious results and added a nice yellow color to the dough. 

The dough is a simple flour / water / oil mix and it needed a little resting time after mixing. Shaped into about 2" balls and then rolled out and oiled on each side, I tossed each one individually into an oiled pan and gently cooked them on each side for less than a minute.  Easy and fast, this is a shocking realization. Someone should obviously employ me in the ways of roti making full time.

The result was a fluffy yet crisp bread in a circle-like shape (hey, it was my first try, let's call me a roti maker in training) and it tasted nicely of curry. Check out the finished product below. I whipped up some curried yogurt dip with lemon and a little salt and pepper for dipping. Dinner is served! Maybe I'll throw in a vegetable and some protein...or maybe I'll just devour the whole plate full.

Want to know more about what Garam Masala really is? Read after the jump.

Happy (belated) Hanukkah!

I know it's a little late, but my family did our Hanukkah dinner last night. It's never too late for latkes though, right?

Here's a look at the grand plate of latkes we served last night...homemade from scratch with love from, er, Trader Joe's. Hey, no judging!

My cousin also brought the most amazing Hanukkah cake for us to indulge in. The delectable, dark chocolate ganache was such a light, refreshing end to such a light meal...if you don't count the fried latkes....or the schnitzel...or the tri tip...or the jelly doughnuts. Gym time for me today! 

(BTW my cousin is a professional pastry chef. Don't try this at home kids.)

It's also never too late to share a little Hanukkah history! So, here's a brief overview of the holiday for those of you that don't follow the way of the tribe. And no, I didn't make this up myself. It's a little excerpt from the all-knowing resource known as the internet. The internet is always right, right? Read all about the history of Hanukkah after the jump, as well as a link to a latke recipe.