Lime and Coconut Crumble Bars

Servings: 16 bars

Cook Time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup old fashioned oats (not the instant oatmeal)
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons lime zest

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8×8-inch baking pan and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Add in flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until everything comes together in a crumbly mixture and flour is evenly distributed. Mix in oats and coconut. Mixture will be somewhat dry and sandy.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, lime juice, and lime zest.

4. Put 2 cups of the oat mixture into the bottom of prepared baking dish and press firmly into an even layer. Pour lime mixture on top and spread evenly. Crumble all remaining oat mixture over the top of the lime mixture, covering it completely.

5. Bake bars for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve. Store remaining bars in the refrigerator.

Adapted from Maria Liccthy.

Chapatti

Ingredients:

1lb White Flour

Quarter Teaspoon Salt

6 oz Water (Approximately)

5 oz Vegetable Oil

Cooking Instructions:

1.      Sift flour into a bowl, pour water and mix to make a firm dough.

2.      Knead dough on a hard surface until smooth.

3.      Divide the dough into 4 - 5 pieces ( like a small size orange).

4.      With a rolling-pin roll each piece flat on a floured surface into a 6.5 inches or more (should be very thin)

5.      Apply the oil evenly on chapatti.

6.      Cut the thin flat dough in the middle to have 2 halves (that will make 2 pieces of chapatti).

7.      Then fold each cut piece separately to make a tennis-ball size dough or smaller.

8.      Roll the tennis size ball dough again into a small round piece (flat but this time not very thin). It’s now ready for frying.

9.      Now heat the frying pan until hot at first, then once you start frying you can reduce heat so the chapattis won’t burn.

10.  Put the piece onto the frying pan. (At the same time roll the next piece so that when one is done you are ready to add another piece).

11.  Turn the piece of chapatti around when it’s a bit brown.

12.  Once both sides are a bit brown, add a table spoon vegetable and keep turning until both sides are golden brown

Maandazi- Tanzania Donuts

Yesterday I shared a pound cake recipe that is my absolute favorite.  One of the reasons for my battle with the bulge.  Here is a recipe from my home country Tanzania and I love to eat them with tea or coffee…. I will post recipes for coffee and tea….yum!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

3 tbsp dry yeast

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

5 tbsp sugar

½ cup coconut milk, canned is okay

1 cup warm water

1 qt cooking vegetable oil (depending on the size of deep fryer)

Preparation time:  20 minutes

Frying time:  10 minutes

Method:

1.     In a small bowl mix dry yeast, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 cup warm water and leave it to rise for about 5-10 minutes, covered with a plastic wrap until yeast rises.

2.     Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Mix flour, cardamom, milk powder and sugar. Make a well in the middle of the flour. Add the yeast mixture and mix it through with hands. Add the coconut milk, and then the water to form a soft dough.

3.     If it is too soft, add flour a little bit at a time.

4.     On a flat floured surface, continue to knead the dough for 10 minutes until it becomes elastic. Move the dough to a clean lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth and let it rise.

5.     Once it has doubled in size, knead the dough for an additional 2 minutes.

6.     Place the dough on flat surface, sprinkle flour at the bottom and on top of the dough and roll out to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut them into equal triangle portions.

7.     Heat the vegetable oil deep fryer (250 c).

8.     Fry 3 or 4 maandazi at a time depending on the size of the deep fryer. Dip the maandazi on the same facing side into hot oil, (the base will be at the bottom) they will rise like air filled balloons you need to turn them immediately to the other side. Fry the other side till they turn light brown and get them out. Do not overcook.

9.     Keep them in a paper towel to drain any excessive oil.

10.   Serve them hot or at room temperature.   

Cooks tip:

Do not over knead the dough, the quicker the mixing will result in very soft maandazi. If you do not have coconut milk you can substitute with milk all the way. While frying do not turn them before they rise, they will be very flat and also do not let them over rise they bust when rising they will be filled with oil.