Showing posts with label Home Made. Show all posts

Monday, April 21, 2025

How to make Greek Yogurt at home | Homemade Greek Yogurt

Greek Yogurt is nothing but plain yogurt that has been strained so that it becomes so creamy and spreadable.

Making Greek yogurt at home is so easy if you're already familiar with making yogurt at home. Even if you don't make yogurt at home, don't worry!! Here i'm guiding you to step by step methods to make perfect yogurt as well as greek yogurt.

Yogurt culture

First thing first, to make yogurt at home, first you will need yogurt culture. Yogurt culture is nothing but a small amount of plain yogurt. If you have a favorite store bought yogurt, then store a couple of tbsp of that yogurt aside before finishing it off :-) Because we're gonna use that as a starter to make our yogurt at home.

Make sure to use good quality yogurt as a starter because the yogurt is gonna taste exactly like the starter we're going to use.

Milk

Second, we need milk. For making yogurt , you can use full fat, 2% or 0% milk. Yogurt made from the full fat milk obviously tastes so rich compared to the low fat version.

If you're making it for growing kids, i would recommend to use full fat milk. Because you can use this as spread(on bagels) or dipping sauce(for patties) or as dessert( with berries and a splash of maple syrup) and kids would absolutely love it. And for adults, you can use whatever the milk as per your diet requirements.

Pro Tips

Depending on how thick you want the greek yogurt, you can strain the yogurt between 12- 24 hrs. I strained mine around 14 hrs.
While boiling the milk, make sure that the bottom won't get burnt. So keep an eye and stir the milk now and then especially if you're using the full fat milk because the chances of burning at the bottom is high when using high fat content milk.

Ok, Now let's check out how to make the perfectly creamy Greek Yogurt at home.

How to make Greek Yogurt at home

Preparation Time : 24 hrs | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Diary | Recipe Cuisine: Greek

Ingredients

Milk - 2 cups
Yogurt - 2 tsp

Procedure

Pour the milk into sauce pan, let it bring into boil.

Once the milk is about to boil, switch off the flame and let it cool a bit. Take the yogurt in a bowl and whisk it well without any lumps and keep it ready.

Pour the yogurt into bowl which you're gonna set the yogurt, check the milk temperature by placing your finger in the milk. It should be hand bearable but still it's warm, that's correct temperature. Pour the milk into the yogurt culture.

Mix it all well together and partly cover the bowl with lid and place it in the warm place. I kept it in oven with lights on.

After 6-8 hrs, the yogurt would be set beautifully.

Next take a colander and line it with cheese cloth. Add the yogurt into that colander.

Place the colander over a bowl to catch the dripping water and then cover the yogurt with the hanging cheese cloth and keep it inside the refrigerator for 12-24 hrs.

After a day, take the colander out and you can see how much is dripped from the yogurt in the bowl.

That's it. Delicious and creamy Greek Yogurt is ready to use. For later use, transfer the yogurt to the refrigerator save bowl and store it in the refrigerator.

Related: Homemade Soft Paneer

Notes:

Keep the yogurt in the refrigerator once it set to avoid the further sourness.
Cheese cloth works better for straining. But you can't find it near you, use any cotton cloth like idli cloth.
It stays well in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Friday, June 19, 2020

Homemade Granola | How to make Granola

Granola, a delicious and healthy breakfast/ snack food made from rolled oats, nuts and dried fruits.The flavor and the taste from the home made granola is really amazing !! Make them in bulk and store them comes handy for breakfast on busy mornings.

When we were newly married, most of the days, our morning breakfast was some kind of store bought cereal. Before marriage, ST was so used to having cereals for morning breakfast in the US, so later when i had joined him, i too followed the same because i didn't know anything in cooking back then. Initially i liked it without bothering much about how healthy it is for breakfast and all. Later it's kind of bored and started to make the typical tamilnadu breakfast such as idli/dosa for breakfast.

Now it's more than 3 years since we bought a pack of cereal from the store. Instead i have been making this granola at home and we liked it so much more than any store bought cereal that we had tried so far. It's such a simple recipe and ready in 20 mins, it can be served with milk for breakfast or with yogurt as a snack. Before moving to the recipe, let's answer all the basic questions that might have popped in your head about granola.

Which oats is best for granola?
Old fashioned rolled oats is best for making granola. Don't use the quick 2 mins oats for this recipe

Which oil is best for making granola?
My personal choice is coconut oil. I love the mild coconut flavor in the granola. But you can use the olive oil, canola oil or any flavorless oil also.

What are the nuts taste best with granola?
In today's recipe, i have used almonds alone. But you can use whatever nuts you like. Almonds, pecans, cashews and walnuts also taste good with granola.

Honey or maple syrup for granola?
Again it's purely a personal choice. I like maple syrup over honey any day. Also i have read that using honey helps to clump the granola together, so if you're into clumpy granola, use honey or half and half of both

How to make clumpy granola ?
Personally i don't like clumpy granola, so haven't tried all those tips available online for making clumpy granola. Like i said before honey helps to make clumpy granola. Another tip is to press the oats well and bake it. Once it's out of the oven, don't stir it immediately, let it cool naturally, all these help to get clumpy granola.

When to add dried fruits in granola?
Add the dried fruits into the granola once it's baked, no need to bake them, it's easily burned in baking.

What are the other things to add granola?
Seeds can be added in granola. Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and sesame seeds are taste great with granola.
In addition to that coconut flakes or slices can be added. Personally i like to add desiccated unsweetened coconut flakes into my granola. The flavor of coconut goes well with the oats and it's my favorite ingredient in making granola.

Homemade Granola | How to make Granola

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Rolled Oats - 2 cups
Almonds - 3/4 cup
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Desiccated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Coconut Oil - 1/4 cup
Maple Syrup - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

First take the coconut oil and maple syrup in a bowl, add salt & vanilla extract into it.

Mix it all well together. Then add the oats and almonds(i have chopped them into half). Mix them well until all the oats coated with oil & syrup mixture.

Preheat the oven @300 F. Line the baking tray with parchment paper and transfer the oats mixture into it. Spread them evenly as single layer and put it in the oven and bake it for 20-25 mins. Half way through take the tray out and mix it well and press it again and put it back in oven.

Once the oats are out of oven, add the raisins and coconut. Mix it well. Let them cool completely and store it in air tight container.

Healthy Granola is ready !!

For more international breakfast recipe, check out here or if you do like pancakes, check out this amazing oats pancakes made from rolled oats.

Notes:

Other than raisins you can add whatever the dried fruits you like
Every oven differs slightly and so keep an eye on the oats while baking.
When the oats is well toasted, it's crunchy when it's cooled.
Instead of using chopped almonds, you can use as it as whole also.
If you're coconut oil is frozen, put it in a bowl of hot water or microwave it until it's all melted.
If you're making in large quantity, use large pan or do it in batch for even roasting of oats
In addition to the vanilla extract,you can add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon flavor also for extra flavor.

Monday, June 15, 2020

Whole Wheat Bread | Mini Wheat Loaf Bread

Whole Wheat Bread, a simple brown bread made from whole wheat flour without any all purpose flour. I have been baking this bread at home for months now, you might knew already this if you have followed me on IG.

It's such a fool proof recipe and yields perfect loaf for every SINGLE time. Ever since i have started baking this bread, the ingredients list from the store bought bread really scary me to buy one of the those.

Seems like i'm in the beginner phase of bread baking and comparing every commercial bread with the home made ones, guess it takes time to get over this !!!

Coming to the today's recipe, it's a basic recipe of wheat bread with only handful of ingredients. Honestly i had so many failed attempts in making whole wheat bread before. All these years of cooking & baking, the one thing that i have learned through this journey is that the staple foods made from the basic ingredients are the hardest one to nail.

Often we(including me) blame the recipe and claim that it doesn't work easily. It's like saying that i have used the same quantity of rice and dal but my idli doesn't turn out soft or have used the same brand of aata but my rotis/chapatis are not soft. More than the ingredients and techniques, it's the personal experience and repeated attempt only we learn a lot.

So if you're beginner in baking/cooking, don't lose hope with your failed attempt, as like always i say, if i can do it, you can also do it. Ok, before move on to the recipe, i'm trying to comprehend all the answers to the frequented questions that pops up in my head when i had started baking breads initially. Hope this helps to all beginners and if you have any more questions, do leave it in comment.

Is Whole Wheat flour same as Atta used in Roti/Chapathi?

No, i don't think so !!! The whole wheat flour that i'm using in this recipe has lot of bran and the texture is slightly coarse compared to the aata/indian wheat flour.
Indian Wheat Flour/ Aata is more smooth in texture and it's completely free of bran.

How do get dome shape in bread loaf?

Right loaf pan and proper proofing is necessary to get that dome shape. While proofing the dough second time in the baking pan, the dough should rise above the pan about 1 inch before going into the oven.
Even if your dough is well proofed but your pan is way too big, then the dough would not have chance to rise above the pan, so it doesn't have that dome shape.So proper pan is must for getting that classic dome shape on the bread

Do i need dough making machine to make this bread?

Absolutely not !! You can make super soft breads by kneading with your hands alone. Think of it as arm workout of the day :-)

Is it as soft as store bought wheat bread ?
To be honest, it's soft and so flavorful but not as soft as commercial ones. Heard that adding wheat gluten helps to make bread as soft as store bought, haven't tried on my own. If i do, will let you guys know !!! But think of all those preservatives and unknown ingredients that goes into the store bought bread, so i would prefer home made bread than store bought on any day.

How long can i store this bread ?
It stays good for up to 3-4 days in room temperature. For more days, it can be refrigerated or even put it in freezer for even longer days.

Whole Wheat Bread | Mini Wheat Loaf Bread

Preparation Time : 2 hr | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Makes : 2 mini loaf
Recipe Category: Bread | Recipe Cuisine: General

Ingredients
Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Water(room temperature) - 3/4 cup +2 tbsp
Instant Yeast - 3/4 tsp
Honey - 1 & 1/2 tbsp
Melted Butter - 1 &1/2 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp

Procedure

In a bowl, add water, yeast & melted butter.

Next add the honey and mix it all well together.

Then add the salt and flour and mix it well until it all comes together as a single mass.

Transfer the dough into the working surface and knead for 10- 15 mins until the dough is super smooth and non sticky.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with cling wrap and set it aside for 1&1/2 to 2 hrs or until it's doubled.

After 2 hrs, remove the cling wrap and punch out the gas from the dough and transfer into working surface.

Divide the dough into two, take one half of the dough and spread it gently with rolling pin.

Fold the dough from one end to another and place the dough log into the baking loaf pan.

Do the same for the other half of the dough.Cover it with cling wrap and set it aside for 30 mins. Preheat the oven @ 375 F.

Put the bread in the oven and reduce the temperature to 350 F. Bake it for around 25 mins or until the bread sounds hallow when tapping.

Slice and serve. Healthy home made Whole wheat bread is ready.

Related : How to make white Sandwich bread

Notes:

You can add up to 3/4 tsp of salt for the given quantity. We don't like much salt in the bread, so reduced the amount
I have used my mini loaf pan. The dimension is 5.75 x 3
You can double the recipe and bake it in the regular loaf pan.
Mix honey and yeast well before adding the salt.
It's must to knead the dough for minimum 10 mins.
Don't add more flour to avoid sticking. With continuous kneading it become non sticky and smooth
I have used Miller's pride brand whole wheat flour.

Friday, June 12, 2020

Homemade Coconut Milk from Fresh Coconut

Homemade Coconut Milk, making coconut milk from the fresh coconut at home is easier than you thought and it's so flavorful and absolutely delicious. If you've been following me for a while, you might know by now how much i like coconut or anything with coconut.

As i grew up in South Tamilnadu, coconut plays a major role in our cooking. There were times that i couldn't imagine making a meal without coconut. For all three meal, we used to include coconut in one or other form when we are in home town.

So, making coconut milk at home is very common sight in our household.Coconut milk is used as accompaniment for breakfast such as idiyappam and appam or in curries like sothi kulambu or in dessert varieties like payasam or snacks like paal kozhukattai and so on. In recent times, coconut milk is so popular and have seen recipes using coconut milk as a vegan substitute for many milk based recipes.

Related : How to make Curd at home

What is Coconut Milk and how to choose coconut for coconut milk?
Coconut milk is a milky white liquid extracted from the matured coconut. Since matured coconut has a lot of milk in it, it's advisable to choose coconut with dark colored coconut shells to make coconut milk.

How much Coconut Milk is extracted from a coconut ?
It's really hard to say because every coconut slightly yields differ amount of coconut milk depending on how mature it is.

is it necessary to use warm water to extract coconut milk?
Not always. Back in India, we never used warm water to extract coconut milk, ordinary tap water works fine. But here in US/Canada, i have found the fat from the coconut easily separated while grinding because of the cold weather, so using warm water helps to avoid the fat getting separated.

What's 1st & 2nd Coconut Milk ?
These terms are mostly used in Indian Cooking. The freshly squeezed coconut milk from the coconut flesh is known as "1st coconut milk". After the first squeeze of coconut milk, the left out coconut debris is grounded again with some water and squeezed again and that's known as "2nd coconut milk".

In Indian Cooking, 2nd coconut milk is often cooked along with veggies and it's ok to boil 2nd coconut milk and it doesn't curdle because of its low fat content . First coconut milk is mostly added in the end of stew, payasam for richness and mostly it's advisable not to boil the first coconut milk vigorously

If you're planning to serve coconut milk as it is along with idiyappam and appam, then mix both 1st and 2nd coconut milk together and use.

How long can i store the coconut milk ?

Honestly, we never store the coconut milk at our homes. Always make them fresh for all the dishes and personally i like the freshly squeezed coconut milk more than any canned coconut milk. Once you have tasted the fresh coconut milk, you never go back to those canned coconut milk.

But you can store any leftover up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator and for more days, store it in the freezer. Right before using it, bring the coconut milk to room temperature because the fat tends to settle on top and leaves the water at the bottom. Keep it in warm water for a few minutes, mix it well and use.

Hopefully i have answered all the basic FAQs about coconut milk, now let's check out how to make coconut milk at home.

Homemade Coconut Milk from Fresh Coconut

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Coconut Milk | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Coconut - 1
Warm Water - as needed

Procedure

Break the coconut into two, take the coconut flesh from the shell using sharp knife and cut into small pieces.

To strain the coconut milk, line the strainer with thin cotton cloth/cheese cloth and keep it ready. Add the coconut pieces into the mixie/blender jar and grind into coarse mixture.

Then add about 1/2 cup of warm water and grind into smooth paste.

Transfer the coconut paste into the cotton cloth and squeeze out all the milk from it. That's it, it's our first coconut milk.

To make second coconut milk, add the left out coconut mixture from the cloth into mixie/blender jar along with some warm water and grind it into smooth paste.

Squeeze out the milk from it again. That's our second coconut milk. It's little bit watery compared to first coconut milk. Still it's so flavorful.
Fresh Homemade coconut milk is ready.

For more kitchen basic recipes , do check out here.

Notes:

Depends on how mature the coconut is and the amount of water we used in making coconut paste, the coconut milk quantity varies.
No need to peel the brown skin of the coconut for making coconut milk.

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Monday, April 21, 2025