Homemade Flour Tortillas

by Trisha Vaz

Soft and delicious Homemade Flour Tortillas made using just a few simple pantry ingredients. These are easy to make and great for meal prep.

Homemade Flour Tortillas
Homemade Flour Tortillas

So, I have a confession. Although I love a good wrap, I cannot stand the taste of store-bought tortillas. Maybe, its just me, but I can actually smell and taste the plastic on the store bought ones. Does anyone else feel that way? I’ve tried a bunch of different brands from both Coles and Woolworths and it’s always the same. And for me, personally, it spoils the whole wrap experience. And that’s one of the main reasons I haven’t shared many recipes for wraps here on the site. But all that’s about to change, now that I can make tortillas at home.

These flour tortillas are everything you’d want in a tortilla and then some. They are soft, so tasty and are made using simple ingredients like flour, salt, oil and water. That’s it. Knead these basic ingredients to a dough, roll out and cook them up. You can make these ahead of time and re-heat when you’re ready to serve. I made these tortillas using all-purpose flour, but you can also make them using whole-wheat flour, if you’d like.

This recipe is a great one for meal prep. You can cook up these tortillas ahead of time. Once they have cooled down, you can pop them in a zip lock back and refrigerate them and then use them through the week. Or you can even use them to make burritos and freeze them for use later. I’ve used these homemade flour tortillas to make quesadillas too. So this is one really versatile recipe that’s great to have on hand.

If this is your first time attempting to make tortillas from scratch, go check out my YouTube video, which takes you through the entire process and I share all my little tips and tricks as well.

This time around, I will be using these tortillas to make some amazing Tandoori Spiced Cauliflower Wraps. Stay tuned for that recipe, coming up next.

Homemade Flour Tortillas
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Homemade Flour Tortillas

Recipe by Trisha VazCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Medium
Servings

7

servings
Prep time

1

hour 
Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 2 tbsp oil

  • Warm water, to knead to a dough (around 3/4 cup)

Directions

  • Add the flour, salt and oil into a large mixing bowl. Rub the oil into the flour to mix well and break down any clumps.
  • Knead this to a dough using luke-warm water. Add water gradually to knead to a smooth pliable dough. I used about 3/4 cup.
  • Roll to a ball, cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rest for about 30 minutes.
  • After the dough has rested, divide dough into portions. I got 7 wrap sized portions. Roll these portions into balls, cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for another 15-20 minutes.
  • After resting the dough, roll out tortillas on a floured surface to a thin disc about 1/8″ thin.
  • Heat a pan on medium high heat. When the pan is hot, place tortilla on pan and let it cook for about a minute or till you see little bubbles appear and the side touching the pan has a few light brown spots.
  • Gently press the air pockets to help them expand a bit.
  • Flip over and let it cook till you get a few light golden spots on the tortilla. Don’t overcook the tortillas as they tend to get hard.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • You may need to use a little less or a little more water depending on your batch of flour. Add the water gradually.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Bread, Recipes, Vegan

Homemade Hot Chocolate

by Trisha Vaz
Homemade Hot Chocolate
Winter is one of my favorite seasons. I love the chill in the air and everything that comes with it, especially after a long, hot summer. I love winter clothes, the food and the indoor days. But what I love most of all is rugging up on a chilly day with a piping hot mug of homemade hot chocolate. So today, I’m going to share with you how I make my basic hot chocolate from scratch in under 5 minutes. Yup, its quick, simple and divine.
Homemade Hot Chocolate
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Homemade Hot Chocolate

Recipe by Trisha VazCourse: BeveragesDifficulty: Easy
Servings

1

servings
Prep time

2

minutes
Cooking time

5

minutes

Hot Chocolate is the perfect winter warmer – quick to put together, easy and delicious, this is made from scratch in under 5 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (full fat) milk

  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped

  • A few marshmallows, for topping (optional)

Directions

  • Combine the milk and cream in a saucepan and heat it over medium heat till it just about starts simmering. Do not let it come to a boil.
  • Add the chopped chocolate and whisk till dissolved.
  • Pour into a mug and top with marshmallows (if using) and sprinkle some grated chocolate on top.

    Enjoy your very own Homemade Hot Chocolate!!!

Recipe Video

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Beverages, Recipes

The Perfect Caramel Popcorn

by Trisha Vaz
Who’s up for some popcorn? And not just any ordinary packet of store-bought popcorn, but an amazing Homemade Caramel Popcorn. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, popcorn is one of my favorite snacks. In the past, I’ve used those microwavable packets too, but ever since I learned how to pop my own corn at home, I just make it from scratch. It is so easy and so much more economical than the store bought bags. Not to mention, that you’re saving on all that unnecessary packaging too.
 
I’ve tried so many variants of flavoring while experimenting at home. Some savory and some sweet. Today, I’m going to share with you my favorite version of Caramel popcorn. The corn takes a couple of minutes to pop, the caramel sauce comes together in a few minutes, then all you do is toss everything together and leave it to cool down and set for a few minutes. 
 
What you get is the most amazing crunchy popcorn, seasoned lightly with a little salt, to taste, covered in the most beautiful caramel sauce. Is there anything else you could want in a snack? Yes, this is a slightly indulgent snack, but we all deserve a treat every once in a while, don’t you think so?
 
Let’s have a look at the recipe.
 
 
 
The Perfect Caramel Popcorn
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The Perfect Caramel Popcorn

Recipe by Trisha VazCourse: SnacksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

2

servings
Cooking time

10

minutes

Slightly salty and slightly sweet, this caramel popcorn is perfect for movie night. If you’re looking for something sweet for a fall gathering or even Halloween, pack some of this up and you’ll be good to go.

Ingredients

  • For the popcorn –

  • 1 1/2 – 2 tbsp cooking oil, any unflavored oil will do

  • 1/4  cup popping corn

  • Salt, to taste

  • For the sauce – 

  • 1 tbsp butter

  • 1/2 cup sugar (finegrain / caster sugar works best)

  • 1/8 tsp baking soda

Directions

  • To make the popcorn –
  • Heat a large, heavy bottomed vessel. Add the oil and let it heat up. 
  • Add 2-3 corn kernels and let them pop. This is when the oil is at the right temperature. At this stage, add the rest of the corn to the vessel along with the salt. Put a lid on and leave very slightly ajar. 
  • Swirl the pan around every now and then. 
     
    When the popping slows down and almost stops, take the vessel off the heat.
  • To make the caramel sauce – 
  • Heat a small saucepan over some medium heat. 
  • Add the butter and sugar to the pan and let it all melt down, stirring every now and then.
     
    Once it melts, watch the pot carefully as the sugar will turn colour very quickly and could burn. 
  • When you’ve reached a nice caramel color, immediately take it off the heat and add the baking soda and stir thoroughly.
  • Quickly pour it over the popped corn and stir through to coat the popcorn with the sauce. 
  • Turn the popcorn out on a lightly greased baking tray and leave it to cool and set. 
     
    Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Snacks

How to make Homemade Pizza from scratch

by Trisha Vaz
How to make Homemade Pizza from scratch
Homemade Pepperoni Pizza
When I think back at my first experience eating pizza, I’m immediately taken back home to when I was about 10 or 12 years old. My best friends mother had whipped up some little pizzas for us as a snack using store bought pizza bases, a little sauce and some toppings. I can’t remember what was on it, but what I do remember was that I liked it very, very much. After that,  she very kindly shared that recipe with my mother, who whipped them up for us at home, every once in a while.

Fast forward to about 7-8 years ago, I actually learned to make my pizza bases from scratch. After a whole lot of trial and error, I finally found a combination that worked well for me. And I’ve stuck to that ever since. And its safe to say, that since then, I have never bought a store bought pizza base. It is quite easy to make, once you know what your doing. Coupled with this, I’m also going to share my no-cook pizza sauce recipe with you. This recipe is probably older than my pizza dough recipe. As far as the toppings go, we’ve tried a lot of combinations. Once you have the basics in place, you can switch up you toppings to suit your tastes.

I’m going to whip up 2 pizzas today, one is a pepperoni pizza and the other is a mixed vegetable pizza. While, we’re tried a few topping options, these two have got to be strong favorites in my house.

So let’s get on to the recipe, shall we?

Homemade Pizza 


For the pizza dough – 

2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
1 tsp instant dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
150ml luke warm water (approx.) (use as needed)
2 spoons olive oil
Salt, to taste

In a little bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and a couple of tablespoons of warm water. Set the bowl aside for about 5-10 minutes for the yeast to activate.

After 5-10 minutes, the yeast will turn frothy and is now activated.

In a large mixing bowl, take 2 cups flour and add the salt (I use about 3/4 tsp salt). Using your fingers, mix the salt through the flour.

Make a well in the middle of the mound of flour and add the yeast mix.

Start combining the flour with the yeast and gradually add warm water, as needed to form a soft dough.

The dough will be tacky at first, but will eventually be much more manageable and smooth.

Stretch the dough while kneading and continue this process for about 5 minutes. (See video above, for method). Halfway through the process, add the oil in 2 stages and continue working the dough.

Shape into a ball, and place in a greased bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and lightly coat the top of the dough, so that it doesn’t dry out. Cover the bowl with some cling film or a clean, damp towel and leave the bowl in a warm place for the dough to rise. Leave to prove (rise) for about an hour, or till the dough doubles in volume. (It might take a little longer during cooler months.)

For the sauce – 
1-1 1/4 cup passata, tomato puree or canned tomatoes (If using canned tomatoes, process them to a puree before using)
2-3 small cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
A little less than 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp red chilly flakes

Add all the ingredients into a bowl. Stir to mix thoroughly.

The sauce is now ready to use.

To make the pizzas – 


Preheat the oven to 250 deg C.

Divide the dough into 2 portions.

Stretch the dough to form the base. (See the video above for method)

Spread the sauce over the base, leaving a little margin from the edges.

Add toppings of your choice and cheese. (I use a combination of mozzarella and colby / cheddar).

Bake for 10-12 minutes or till the dough (pizza base) is cooked through and the cheese has melted.

Enjoy!

NOTES:
1) Remember to use warm water, not hot water. Hot water will kill your yeast and your dough will not rise.

Homemade Veggie Pizza from scratch
Homemade Veggie Pizza from scratch
Homemade Veggie Pizza from scratch
Homemade Veggie Pizza from scratch
How to make Homemade Pizza from scratch
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How to make Homemade Pizza from scratch

Recipe by Trisha VazCourse: MainsCuisine: American, ItalianDifficulty: Medium
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes
Resting Time

1

minute

Learn to make your own Pizza dough and sauce at home and then personalise your toppings to make a pizza thats perfect for you.

Ingredients

  • For the pizza dough –

  • 2 cups all purpose flour (maida)

  • 1 tsp instant dried yeast

  • 1 tsp sugar

  • 150ml luke warm water (approx.) (use as needed)

  • 2 spoons olive oil

  • Salt, to taste

  • For the pizza sauce –

  • 1-1 1/4 cup passata, tomato puree or canned tomatoes (If using canned tomatoes, process them to a puree before using)

  • 2 small cloves of garlic, minced

  • 2 tsp olive oil

  • Salt, to taste

  • Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

  • A little less than 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs

  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano

  • 1/2 tsp sugar

  • 1/4-1/2 tsp red chilly flakes

  • For the pizza –

  • Veg pizza toppings – Onion, capsixum, kalamata olives, pickled jalapeños, cheese (I use a combination of mozzarella and cheddar and colby jack)

    Pepperoni pizza – Pepperoni slices, cheese (I use a combination of mozzarella and cheddar and colby jack)

Directions

  • For the dough –
  • In a little bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and a couple of tablespoons of warm water. Set the bowl aside for about 5-10 minutes for the yeast to activate.
    After 5-10 minutes, the yeast will turn frothy and is now activated.
  • In a large mixing bowl, take 2 cups flour and add the salt (I use about 3/4 tsp salt). Using your fingers, mix the salt through the flour.
  • Make a well in the middle of the mound of flour and add the yeast mix.
  • Start combining the flour with the yeast and gradually add warm water, as needed to form a soft dough.
    The dough will be tacky at first, but will eventually be much more manageable and smooth.
    Stretch the dough while kneading and continue this process for about 5 minutes. (See video, for method).
  • Halfway through the process, add the oil in 2 stages and continue working the dough.
    Shape into a ball, and place in a greased bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and lightly coat the top of the dough, so that it doesn’t dry out. Cover the bowl with some cling film or a clean, damp towel and leave the bowl in a warm place for the dough to rise. Leave to prove (rise) for about an hour, or till the dough doubles in volume. (It might take a little longer during cooler months.)
  • For the pizza sauce –
  • Add all the ingredients into a bowl. Stir to mix thoroughly.
    The sauce is now ready to use.
  • To make the pizza –
  • Preheat the oven to 250 deg C.
  • Divide the dough into 2 portions.
  • Grease 2 baking trays with a little olive oil.
  • Stretch the dough to form the base and place on the greased baking tray. (See the video for method)
  • Spread the sauce over the base, leaving a little margin from the edges.
  • Add toppings of your choice and cheese. (I use a combination of mozzarella and colby / cheddar).
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes or till the dough (pizza base) is cooked through and the cheese has melted.

    Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Notes

  • For the cheese – I use a combination of mozzarella and cheddar and colby jack
  • For the toppings – Use whatever toppings you’d like on your pizza.
  • Remember to use warm water, not hot water. Hot water will kill your yeast and your dough will not rise.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Mains, Recipes

Instant Kesar Peda – Saffron Infused Milk Fudge

by Trisha Vaz
** This post contains affiliate links.

So it’s almost Diwali. Even though we don’t celebrate it, we enjoy the food that comes with it. After trying out a few sweet and savory recipes for Diwali over the last five years, I’ve come to realize that a lot of recipes are fairly quick and easy to make, compared to most of the traditional Goan sweets. That makes me happy because I know I can whip up so many treats in a jiffy. However, there are a few recipes that are time consuming and tedious when made from scratch, like a good peda. A peda, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, is a hand shaped piece of fudge made and enjoyed all over India. Now, I have made fudge before but had never tried making Pedas at home.This recipe is an instant version of the good old peda.

This Instant Kesar Peda requires a few basic ingredients and about half an hour of your time. That’s how easy and simple it is to make. A lot of the commercially sold pedas use food coloring and artificial flavoring, but I decided to keep mine simple. I have used actual Saffron strands in this recipe for flavor and a mild coloring too. If you want your pedas to have the ‘oh-so-popular’ color, use some yellow food color. You can choose to imprint a design on the top of the peda or use a mould to shape it and you have the option to garnish the shaped pedas with some finely slivered nuts as well. So if you still haven’t whipped up anything for Diwali, don’t let that get you down. You can still make a bunch of homemade sweets and savories for your Diwali platter in no time at all. Besides this peda recipe, I have a few fantastic recipes to help you out. You can find them at the end of the post here.
So here’s to another Indian delicacy, even though its a cheat version. I can tick this one of the my ever-growing list of recipes I want to try.
Wish you and your family a Happy and Prosperous Diwali!!!
Instant Kesar Pedas
Yields: 25 pieces
 
1 cup condensed milk
1 cup + 2 tsp milk powder
1/2 tsp green cardamom seeds, crushed/powdered
2 tsp ghee
A generous pinch of saffron strands
2 tsp warm milk
Extra ghee, to grease your palms while shaping the pedas
Add the saffron strands to the warm milk and set aside to infuse.
Grease a large plate with a tiny bit of ghee and set aside.
In a wide, preferably heavy bottomed pan, heat the ghee on a medium flame till it melts.
Add the condensed milk and the milk powder to the pan and stir well, making sure you dissolve any lumps that form. Any lumps left will not give you a smooth finish.
Continue cooking the mix, stirring frequently (with a wooden or a silicon spoon) for about 8-10 minutes. You will find the mix coming together at this stage.
Add the saffron infused milk and strands and the crushed cardamom to the pan and stir well. This will cause the mix to loosen in consistency a little and that’s exactly what we want.
 Continue cooking for a few more minutes, stirring continuously and the mix will start pulling away from the sides of the pan.
At this stage carefully check to see if the mix is still sticky. I picked a tiny portion with the spoon and touched it lightly to see if it is sticky. My hands can tolerate a fair amount of heat, please exercise caution when doing this. You want to make very little contact with the mix and not dip your finger in it too deep because it is super hot at this stage. If it still feels too sticky, continue cooking for a couple minutes more.
Once it is not sticky, take off the heat.
Immediately turn the mix onto the greased plate and leave it to cool a little.
When it is cool enough to handle, grease your palms with a little ghee, pinch of a small portion of the mix and roll into a ball and flatten slightly. Place on a platter and leave to set. If you choose to garnish the pedas, do it at this stage just after you shape it and then set aside in a single layer to set.
Serve up and enjoy!!!
Pin now and try later –

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Dessert, Recipes

Almond Rocks

by Trisha Vaz
My first Christmas post … is this really possible? It’s not yet December but I already have my Christmas on, and it makes me insanely happy. I happen to be someone that loves Christmas. Turns out this is the first Christmas that I have to myself in about 8-10 years. For more than the first half of the last decade, I made Christmas sweets to order back in Mumbai. So as you can imagine around mid November, things would kick into higher gear with the prep, graphic work, shopping and planning of the month ahead and come December I’d be buried to my ears in work. It was exhausting but I loved every second of it and I can’t wait to do this all over again here in Sydney. Not this year though. After spending the last few years in Retail, which at this time of the year has you running off your feet, I have decided to take a little time off. Time to step back, re-prioritize and take some time off. We going to spend Christmas with the family in Bombay this year and I’m really excited. So you should see a little more of me on the blog at this time of the year.

For my first Christmas treat, I’m going to share with you a little chocolate creation that will knock your socks off. If you aren’t wearing any socks at the moment, I’ll wait for you. Put them on and come back to check the rest of the post and prepare to have them knocked off. Almond Rocks are so simple to make and need just 2 ingredients. You can make as big or small a batch as you’d like to. But I must warn you, these are so addictive, do yourself a favor and make a bigger batch than you need. You can also adjust the chocolate to be as intensely dark or sweet as you want it. We personally love dark chocolate, so I use a 70% dark chocolate straight up. If you like a sweeter chocolate, you simple use milk chocolate. If you’re in a Goldilocks kinda situation, use half semisweet / dark and half milk chocolate. So you see what I mean, you could have your chocolate just the way you like it. So that’s about your first ingredient. Now onto your second, the almonds. I use just the regular natural almonds and I roast them myself. I find the flavor much better this way. But you could use store bought roasted almonds too. Those are the ingredients for you. Now let’s put these together, shall we.
Almond Rocks
Yield: 16 pcs

100g dark chocolate (I used 70%, but you can use whatever you like)
A handful of almonds (I use 3 per chocolate, and always roast some extras, in case you have chocolate left over. The almonds taste great for snacking too.)
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Place the almonds on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 5 minutes.
Toss the almonds and place back in the oven for another 4-5 minutes. Check at the 3 minute mark this time. You may not need as long as 5 minutes, depending on the size of your almonds and your oven. You want the almonds to slightly change color and you will distinctly be able to smell the nuttiness. You need to watch the almonds as you don’t want them to char or burn.
Once you’re happy with how roasted the almonds are, take them out of the oven and let them cool completely. They will crisp up and be a whole lot yummier one it has cooled down. (If you are using store bought almonds that are roasted, you can skip this whole step.)
While this is happening, roughly chop the chocolate into small pieces. Remember, the smaller the pieces, the faster it will melt, which is a good thing. If you haven’t worked with chocolate before, please ensure that all surfaces, bowls/plates, knives that you use to work with the chocolate are comepletely dry. Water and chocolate don’t get along. Any moisture will cause the chocolate to seize and that is NOT a good thing.
Place the chopped up chocolate in a microwave suitable bowl and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and return to the microwave for another 15 seconds. Stir again. As you stir, you will see the chocolate starting to melt. It took me a further 15 seconds (1 minute in all) to get my chocolate melted. Stir well and as you stir, the chocolate continues to melt and gets silky like this.
Tip the completely cool roasted almonds in the chocolate. At this stage, you may feel like there isn’t enough chocolate, but trust me, there is. If you want to, you can add the almonds in two stages. 
Stir the almonds into the chocolate to make sure every nut is well coated in the chocolate. 
Line a plate or platter or tray with parchment paper. 
Spoon out one cluster at a time. I scoop up 3 almonds at a time and drop them on the parchment lined tray. (If you want smaller clusters, you could use just 2 almonds for each cluster. I like the portion size that 3 almonds yield.)
Repeat with the rest of the almonds and chocolate. I love the irregular shapes of candy you get. I think its what gives these almond rocks a lot of character. 
Pop the tray in the refrigerator for around 20 minutes to set. This is what it will look after it has set.
Keep refrigerated till you are ready to serve or store in an airtight container in the fridge. If you want to wrap them in colored candy wrapping foil you can do so at this stage. You could also pop them in little festive bags and use them as edible gifts or host / hostess gifts this holiday season. I am going to leave them uncovered. 
Enjoy!!!
Note: If you are making a massive batch, melt your chocolate in batches that way it is easy to work with. However if you find the chocolate getting too thick to work it, microwave it for about 10 seconds and you should be good to go.
If you don’t have a microwave, you could use the double boiler method to melt the chocolate. Simply place a bowl with the chocolate over a pot of simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl and no moisture or vapor gets to the chocolate while you are melting it.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, Recipes