Garlic Basil Knots

Recipe from For The Love Of Cooking at For The Love Of Cooking

I have a special liking for breads.Especially breads with special shapes.I was searching for a bread I could make.Most of them called for ingredients I had to buy.Then I came upon this recipe.I just can't get enough of garlic.They smell soooo good.As for basil, I just happened to have it at home.I had brought basil from a supermarket earlier because I needed it for another recipe.I was under the assumption that it was not
something that we grew freshly here, but instead was imported or something.But as I searched for its word in my mother tongue, I came to the realisation that it was a herb found in almost every Indian home.I felt like an idiot to have thought it was an imported herb.

I recently read about herb gardens.I would like to make one.It would be nice to have fresh herbs in my cooking.I mean other than Basil,all other herbs come packed.I don't like packed things ,I prefer homemade and fresh ingredients.Likewise after a lot of searching I learnt that I can grow a few herbs in this climate.But the problem lies in the fact that I can't get the seeds of these here.So, until I find the seeds I guess i'll have to go on with the packed ingredients.

The recipe is really tasty.The smell of garlic is really good in this recipe.I found that the spicy Indian achar is a good combination.Achar is a spicy Indian dish which is called by some as pickles.But it isn't pickle.I believe pickle is the term used in western countries to refer to a food item preserved in brine solution.But, contrastingly,achar has a lot of chilly powder, making it really spicy,it also has a lot of other spices, in addition to the preserved food item.But it tastes really good.I mean even thinking about it makes my mouth water.I guess i'll put up a recipe of an achar.

Garlic Basil Knots

• 1 cup of water
• 2 tbsp of butter, softened
• 1 egg (hold under warm water before breaking it)
• 3 1/4 cup of flour
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tsp regular active dry yeast
• 1-2 tbsp of butter, melted
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped finely

Place all dough ingredients, except the last three, in the bread machine in the order listed. Select the dough cycle and press start. Once the bread machine stops (it was one and a half hours on my machine).Or if you don't have a bread machine you can first mix a little sugar and water and add yeast to it.Then mix all the other ingredients,except the last three, in a bowl.Then,slowly add the yeast mixture and mix.If you are using the second method you might want to use only 1/2 cup water. Place a silpat mat on a baking sheet then coat with cooking spray. Flatten the dough onto a well floured surface then using a pizza cutter, cut into strips. Take each strip and tie into a knot, making sure to keep it well floured so it doesn't stick together. Place each knot onto the baking sheet. Once you have tied all the strips into knots, cover them with a cloth and set in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake 9-12 minutes or until golden brown.
For the sauce:
Add butter and minced garlic together and cook in the microwave until melted. Add the fresh chopped basil and stir. Once the knots are out of the oven, brush the top of each knot with the garlic basil butter. Serve immediately. Enjoy.