Thursday, July 17, 2008

Challah: the Eat-away Braid...and a tag!

First of all, I am pretty new to the blog world and therefore not very familiar with the netiquittes :) So I'd like to address the unintentionally ignored tag. The responses are given at the end of this post. Also, we have tagged Nags and Shreya to keep the ball rolling. We know they like tags!

Coming back to the post, I think we've discontinued from the "Baking Binge" for a couple of posts, although we've been baking like crazy :) Take a look at this cartoon. I think we're at level 3 now :D.



This time we followed Rosa's Challah bread recipe. Once again, the ingredients were cut down by half (except the yeast....I shudder at the thought of a dough that doesnt rise!). And for the topping, we used sesame seeds. Her recipe worked like a charm!



The smell was heavenly and so was the taste! The bread had a nice, golden outer crust but was very soft on the inside. Rosa, you are a magician and nice enough to share your tricks of trade through your blog :) So I guess this is yet another -"tried and tested", approved, baked, photographed and devoured immediately- post after following the Focaccia! See it for yourself :)














Once again, for the detailed recipe please check out Rosa's blog. She also gives some excellent tidbits of wisdom every now and then :)

Disclaimer: The cartoon is meant solely to depict the stages of evolution with a lighter side to it. It is in no way, shape or form a comparison between Daring Bakers and Homer Simpson ...although the concoctions by daring bakers are certain to turn ordinary mortals into one in terms of appetite :D.
___________________________________________________________________

We've been tagged!

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?
A- Baby Mama - at N's behest. I wanted to watch Iron Man!
N- Can I say that I have NOT yet watched 'The Sex and the City?' BTW, Baby Mama sucked, yes.

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?
A- Principles of Nonlinear Optics by Butcher and Cotter. I think my geekiness has been exposed!
N- To Kill a Mockingbird

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?
A- Scrabble!
N- Who will he play with? ;) Scrabble for me too!

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?
A-Science Magazine, Nature, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal of Physical Chemistry (B and C), Materials Today and Advanced Materials. I think I am a certified nerd now!
N- Err..my list won't sound as hi-fi as someone else's. I'd say mainstream political magazines, oh, gossip ones will do too :P

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?
A-Food, Jasmine.
N- Fresh coffee, Monsoon, smell of earth, bread :), chocolate cake, chai, and lots more!

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?
A- Flute, mandolin, violin, acoustic guitar (peaceful vibes).
N- My voice ;) How vain can I get? But I do not listen, I just talk :P

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
A- Being dismissed/ignored.
N- Hearing a 'NO' to my offer to watch Sex and the City :(

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
A- Give me some coffee and bring on the day :)
N- Can't it be night again? Or, can I have 5 more minutes (read: forever)

9) FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
A- Papa John's pizza (I order more frequently though)
N- Any road-side joint in India (this works for A too. He is just being pseudo ;)) and ya, Papa John's with an extra order of cheese is the only choice in the US no?

10) FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?
A- Haven't thought one yet.
N- Now, you know who thinks of sensible things and the future. Sigh. I want twins. Period. Nakul and Nakshatra... and...

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D’
A- Put it in a bank. Yup, I'm boring!
N- Hmm...ya, put it in a bank, or maybe, go on a world tour!

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
A-Yes I do :)
N- Do I have a choice in this country? ;)

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
A-No.
N- No, not yet ;)

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
A-If I'm home, and if the storm doesn't cause electricity to fail, pretty cool! If I'm driving or outside, scary!
N- Cool all the time! Much fun to be had ;)

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
A- Camry
N- None of my own, but my dad's Premier Padmini for both good and bad memories :)

16) FAVOURITE DRINK?
A- Ganne ka ras (Sugarcane juice)
N- Chai? Brings loads of memories

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
A- Travel across the world.
N- Me too!

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
A-If cooked well enough, yes.
N- No, coz they are healthy. For that matter, I hate broccoli

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
A-I like it the way it is. Absolutely no changes in its hue :)
N- Red!

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
A- Chennai, Jaipur, Delhi, Haldia, Panipat, Ambala, Karnal, Rajkot, Mumbai, Gandhidham, Surat, Gainesville Florida, Ann Arbor Michigan, Atlanta, Georgia.
N- Err... do you want to know this fact about me? Bangalore and Hyderabad before Atlanta!

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
A-Cricket, Baseball, Football (NFL), Basketball.
N- None after marriage, thanks to an overdose. Sigh.

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
A-Indranee.....very kind of you
N- Indranee - she's nice coz she gave me a chance to talk ;)

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
A-We dont want to go there...its not vacuumed very often :D
N- I send A there to clean up. So, I dunno!

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
A-Given the same parents, absolutely!
N- No. I'd like to be born with a good figure, and a creamy complexion :D

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
A- Morning person.
N- Night owl

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
A-Somewhere in between
N- Sunny side up

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?
A- Home sweet home!
N- Hmm...near a water body :)

28) FAVOURITE PIE?
A- Pumpkin and Pecan
N- Is there a chocolate pie? :D

29) FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR?
A-Oh come on, I cant name one! Butter Pecan and Praline cream are joint first.
N- I can name one. Chocolate is the word.

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Err..Nags :D coz she LOVES tags, so says N ;)

22 comments:

amna said...

how sweet of you guys to do the tag together!! let me see if i can get TH to do the same :D

the braided bread looks yummy (think i already said that!). waiting to get an oven to start off baking here.

Cham said...

Both of u did the tag cool! It is real fun for u guys! The challah looks pretty delicious :)

sra said...

I love Scrabble too. The meme's hilarious - I too would like to be born with a good figure and an unblemished complexion!

Shreya said...

Hi A_and_N, the braids looks yum, the stage 3 presentation with Simpson is cool! I love your answers, N. A, you totally sound like a nerd with that long list of stuff you read. But, the fact that you cook, and watch sports, and travel etc, makes you very much NOT a nerd:-)

Deepthi Shankar said...

the braid looks yum .. the tag was a good read :)

PG said...

Good to know you both more. The Braids look fabulous!
A, I enjoy reading Science and Nature a lot too!
And WOW! You have travelled a lot. Did you really live in all these cities,?
N, find a group of friends to watch the movie. I guess, this is the same old story with all the couples! :D

Dibs said...

Me ignoramus too. Whats tag? Bread looks great... stuffed mirch looks better!

bha said...

The challah looks so warm and well done.....nice to know you guys on my first visit here.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

I'm ever so happy to see that you have overcome your bread/yeast phobia!!! Yippee, a new era has started (sound of trumpets)!

Your Challah looks so great! Really perfect! I'm in awe! You are a skilled baker...

Nice to learn more about you. I'd also love to have red hair and I love the smell of food (of course, I'm a foodie!) as well as that of jasmine.

Cheers and have a great weekend,

Rosa

Manggy said...

I agree with Rosa, the Challah looks marvelous (I have the book too-- maybe I should actually make something from it, sigh)... I think kneading comes well above following a recipe, haha :)

Cakelaw said...

Oh wow - your challah braid looks gorgeous - almost too pretty to eat!

Sujatha said...

You both did the tags?? Nice!! Enjoyed reading both of your Tags :) and your braid also looks so soft and fluffy..

delhibelle said...

what a fun meme..thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Baking level chart is so cute, as is your challah:)

Raja said...

It was good fun reading this. :-)

Swati said...

Love the bread..You are doing wonders with bread now.:))
Meme was too good..both A n N..

Dee said...

I bake a lot of bread, but there's still a whole of yeasty goodies that scare the beejeebers outta me. This look amazing, and waaay out of my league, sadly :(

Clumbsy Cookie said...

You people are funny! Now go watch sex and the city!

Laavanya said...

That bread looks brilliant you guys - nicely done. Your tag was so much fun to read and I loved how you both wrote it - very cute :D

Indian Khana said...

Bread looks nice and love reading your tag...

A_and_N said...

@ Nags: LOL, time pass it was. And I cannot wait to see what you cook up when you get the oven!

A_and_N said...

@ Cham: Thanks :)

@ Sra: Don't we all? Sigh. I bought Monopoly for A for his bday, now I love that too!

@ Shreya: Why do you think I married him? ;)

@ Vegetable Platter: Thanks a ton!

@ PG: I hate those articles :D And we've only recently shifted here, so no friends. A really lived in all those cities because of his dad's job :)

@ Dibs: Don't bother about the tag ;) It is just a couple of questions and you answer them and you 'tag' someone else to do the same. And thanks for your compliments :)

@ Bhags: Thank you. Loved your bakharwadi!

@ Rosa: Waiting to try out the seed bread :D And thanks, really, for the compliments

@ Manggy, Cakelaw: Thank you!

@ Sujatha, Delhibelle: The tag was super fun to do! We fought over who will do it ;)

@ Raja Mama: Now, you can cook too ;)

@ Swati: Thank you. Nothing beats your cakes. NOTHING!

@ Dee: Oh, you know what? This is the nth bread that we tried, and this is the only that worked out. You will surely do better, am sure!

@ Clumbsy cookie: Well, we can only try ;)

@ Priti, Laavanya: Thanks! It was fun doing it :)

Dori said...

Hehehe, Cute Meme!