Cinnamon Rolls: Recipe for the month

I wanted to “bake” something special for my husband …. Something other than cake! So yesterday I took the plunge to baking cinnamon rolls…. I have always been intimidated baking any form of bread. There is so much of science involved in baking these rolls… right measurement… right temperature… technique.  But I finally faced my fears and baked these gorgeous rolls… they are undeniably delicious!! It’s perfect to make for a brunch or even gift someone. But I have to say it’s time consuming and daunting at first but totally worth the effort!  And as I set these gorgeous rolls in the oven, my home was filled with this amazing aroma!

So past couple of days I have been pinning on Pinterest like a mad woman looking for an easy beginner’s recipe and I finally stumbled upon one that seemed easy to follow. And am glad it came out well and it was delicious and moreover my husband raved about it by just eating it all!!!! So if you are trying for the first time, this is the recipe to follow.

 

 Serves: 6-7

(Recipe is adapted from here)

Ingredients

·         Milk - ¼ cup

·         Water - ¼ cup

·         Butter - 1 tbsp (14 gms)

·         Salt - ¼ tsp

·         Plain Flour - 1½ cups (you may need 2 tblsp more if the dough is sticky)

·         Yeast - 1⅛ tsp

·         Sugar -  2 tblsp

·         Egg - 1, lightly beaten

Filling

·         Butter - 1½ tbsp, melted

·         Cinnamon Powder - ½ tbsp

·         Brown Sugar - 3-4 tbsp (preferably dark)

Frosting

·         Icing sugar - ½ cup

·         Melted Butter - ¾ - 1 tbsp

·         Vanilla essence - ⅛ tsp

·         Milk/ Cream - ¾ - 1tbsp

 

 

 

Method

 

·         Preheat the oven @ 180 C for 10 mins, before baking.

·         Combine salt, flour, yeast and sugar. Heat milk, water & butter till the butter melts. Add dry ingredients and beaten egg to the wet ingredients. Mix together to make dough. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it for a few minutes, till you get smooth dough (without stickiness, add more flour if its too sticky). Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover it with a cling film. Let it rest till the dough doubles (about 2 hrs).

·         Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Punch down the risen dough & roll it out into a rectangle on a floured surface. Smear the dough with melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar & cinnamon mix evenly over the dough. Roll the dough up into a log starting at the long side towards you. Press together the edges to seal it. Depending on the size you want (mini or medium size rolls), cut the dough using a serrated knife. Place the rolls cut side down into a greased baking pan. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 30-45 minutes. I kept in the preheated oven to rise since the weather here is not so warm now.

·         Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for around 20-25 mins until golden. Meanwhile combine all the ingredients under the frosting till its thick icing and set it aside.

 

·         Allow the baked rolls to cool for 10 mins & spread the frosting over the baked rolls and enjoy.

·         Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool 10 minutes. Spread frosting over baked rolls and enjoy.

 



My Roses (I receive these traditionally every year on Valentines... )

 

Have you ever seen anyone refuse a cinnamon roll???

 

All Images are clicked by me

 

 

 

 

Friday Lunch

Hanging out with a bunch of non-judgmental friends makes life so blissful…. No comparisons, no jealousy, no barriers or pretence of any kind…. Just happy with themselves… and more importantly you are on the same page with them! All this makes life less complicated! And I have to say they bring out the best in me…there are very few who has that effect on me!! So a big muaah to this bunch!! We decided to make use of the fabulous weather here and hit different restaurants, cafes and taste different cuisines or just have coffee or tea somewhere just to unwind.

Last Friday’s impromptu lunch at Mani’s Cafe was good, not too heavy … it’s a small cozy place just to relax and unwind, minimalistic décor, good service .… and not a crowded place. We had the hot and sour soup, Penne Carbonara that has turkey bacon and extra creamy Alfredo sauce (I will definitely go again to have this), Grilled Chicken Pesto and chicken sandwich with mozzarella, wasabi & mayo. And I give a thumbs-up for all the dishes and their portions are huge! Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of our main food as I was so famished. They have a great breakfast menu as well but not extensive!! Indulging in dessert after lunch is a ritual for me, at least on Fridays… But we skipped dessert at Mani’s and decided to stroll along the beach nearby and head to Slider Station to devour Oreo crusted fondant and their Lotus Biscoff Pancakes with home made vanilla pod ice-cream drizzled with caramel and paired it with coffee!!! I went to heaven and landed right back… it was the best! So head there if you feel like indulging in some dessert… totally worth it!

All pictures are clicked by me



 

House of the Month: Residence of Pinky from Canada

Home tours are always my favorite post. It always gives me inspiration and a different perspective on the inhabitant’s creative journey. Today’s home tour is all the way from Canada and is the home of Ajay Shah, Pinky Shah and their two teenagers. Pinky is the blogger of Pinkz Passion. Pinkz Passion is a must read… it’s filled with beautiful pictures, her travels and décor ideas. And it’s her inherent passion for creativity that drove her to blogging. Pinky has put her heart and soul into this lovely house. It’s cocooned with beautiful Indian handicrafts, art and other treasures. My personal favorite are the beautiful vignettes she created on her table and counter tops. Let’s take a peek into this gorgeous home and read on as Pinky takes us for her home tour.

" Our home is an explosion of our wit and confidence, a charming amalgam of our personal treasures and deeply rooted love for all things Indian. Our enticingly displayed heirloom pieces or unexpectedly mixed travel oddities sum up the core of our style and our own personality. A motley collection of antique and unique Ganesha curated over 18 years adds the grace note in our home."

 

"Our entrance echoes a powerful punch of our young teenager daughter’s Ganesha paintings where every guest is captive here to stop and appreciate her implausible work."

 

"Each and every room has gone under an exhaustive designed process to succeed the preferred exactness. "

 

 

  "Keeping our religious necessities in mind, office/den room has been transformed into Pooja Room."

"Our practically formal and strictly for entertaining Living Room reiterates the Indian touch throughout the room. "

"Being the dressiest room with the entire razzle dazzle, it fits the bill for exhibiting our collection of Ganesha. Our visually weighty collection certainly merits my husband’s tasteful and keen eye as most of the pieces came home from his distant business travel. The peacock blue melody in the room blends well with the goldy details. "

  "Ever changing unique and casual clustering of our collection often lands on my coffee table."

"All the ho hum of routine life is spared specially our family room, where major element of comfort favors the room. Be it reading a book, sipping our morning chai with each other's company or curling up simply on the couch to see the ducks swimming away in the pond of our ravine view through giant bank of windows." 

"Family portraits clicked in our own ravine backyard has pride of place in our family room. Colors and patterns often sizzle up in this room by layering our mod to old treasures. "

"Our kitchen is designed to age well, which accommodates all major necessity of our compulsive hosting mode where you can often catch me blasting loud on phone while cooking ;)  

The compulsion to belt out décor saga of our home made me start my blog Pinkz Passion. It mostly depicts a powerful presentation of my own design inspiration of our home and anything charming about Indian and global décor trends."

 

 

 

Thanks Pinky for sharing your beautiful home with us!! Please check out her latest blog post for some valentine inspirations. She has created a beautiful valentine tablescape to spread the love.

 

Please click here to read her gorgeous blog.

 

 

All Images are from Pinky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend Fun

I have fond memories of getting away with my folks on day trips to farm houses, parks and beach for picnic, especially when the weather gets pleasant and cool. Well last weekend turned out memorable for me as we went for a day trip to a farm house with some “cool” family and friends, played some games with barbecue, listening to some good music, danced and random conversations. And my weekend ended with some surprise gifts all the way from US, some quality time with my dear cousin and an impromptu lunch, coffee and a park visit with a bunch of adventure driven friends, which turned out to be equally interesting and fun… all I can say is the inner child within me or rather “all of us” just took charge! And on a positive note I am slowly getting my strength back after the bad viral!!!

The weekend was just perfect! It was a weekend where we embraced the beautiful weather… some family time…. Some quality time with friends and lots of food!!!  I hope you all had an equally fabulous weekend! And remember …. “Never forget your inner child"

Here are some pictures that sums up my weekend…

a beautiful farm in Barkha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

why not roll on the grass.... simple pleasures

Lunch @Mackenzies

 

 

All pictures are clicked by me