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Reduced guilt pasta

 Boil pasta as per package instructions. Wash  and soak 1/2 cup red lentils - masoor daal. In a small pressure cooker, heat some olive oil and add 1/4 chopped onion, 1 celery, 1 carrot, 1/2 green pepper and 2 cloves of garlic. Sauté for a few minutes. Add salt, pepper, red chilli flakes, oregano, and a pinch of thyme and marjoram. Add big pieces of mushrooms and the lentils and sauté for another minute. Add half jar of basic tomato basil pasta sauce, about 1/2 cup water and cook on medium for two whistles. Once done, mix the pasta, lentil sauce, the remaining half jar of the tomato sauce and some reserved pasta water. Serve with olive oil and grated permesan.  https://www.kitchentreaty.com/red-lentil-marinara-sauce/
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Rye seed cracker

 Super easy, super fast and really nice! Can also make for a nice gift.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, mix together 1 cup rye flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 cup each of rolled oats, pumpkin seeds and essence seeds, 2 tbsp flax seeds. Mix everything.Add 3 tbsp olive oil and 1/3 cup water. Lightly mix (do not over mix). Then turn over on a parchment paper. Cover with another parchment paper and roll it out. Remove the top paper, move the dough with the bottom paper to a baking tray and score with a pizza cutter. Bake for about 20 mins till lightly brown in the corners. Cool for two minutes and break them apart. Cool and store in an air tight container. https://www.carolinescooking.com/swedish-crispbread-rye-seed-crackers/

Vietnamese Garlic Noodles

 In a pan, boil noodles (I used whole wheat hand pulled noodles from trader joes)..with less water, and just a pinch of salt. In another pan, heat some butter and olive oil, and add lots of crushed garlic. Let it cook until just before browning. Add the noodles with the water, some dark soy sauce and cook..keep adding the pasta water as required ( I used all of it)..this will make it super creamy. Add grated permesan and cook another half a minute. Serve with more permesan.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seY_K4P6rOM

Basic Chole

After 30+ years of cooking, I’m starting to converge on a basic recipe of Chole ..  Soak a cup of dry Chole for 5-6 hours. Drain the water and add fresh water. Add a pinch of salt, 4-5 dry Awla, one bay leaf and boil for 4-5 whistles in a pressure cooker. Boil 2-3 small potatoes along with the Chole. Once cooled, mash some of the chole.  Onion base - oil, onion, ginger, garlic, tomato, turmeric, red chilli powder and coriander powder. I keep this ready in the fridge.  Chole masala -  dry roast - 11/2 tbsp coriander seeds, 4 black cardamom, 1 tbsp black pepper, 1 tsp cumin, 4-5 green cardamom, 1/4 tsp ajwain, 6-7 cloves, 1 mace, 1/4 tsp hing, 2 kashmiri red chillies for 2-3 mins. Add 1 tbsp each of dry anardana, and kasuri methi and some salt and roast another minute. Grind to a fine powder and store in a container.  Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, about 1/2 cup onion masala, add about a tablespoon of Chole masala, sauté for a few seconds. Add about 1/2 cup yoghurt and let it cook.

Almond chocolate celebration cake

 Preheat oven to 350. Put parchment circle at the bottom of a 10 inch spring foam pan, and grease the bottom. Separate 6 extra large (or 7 large) eggs. Mix yolks with 1 stick of room temp butter. In a mixer, start whipping egg whites. Stream in sugar (3/4 cup +1 tbsp + 1 tsp). Whip until it’s a stiff meringue. Add a dash of almond extract. Fold in the yolk and butter mixture and fold in  11/4 cup of almond flour + 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs. Add the batter to the pan and bake until done. About 20-25 mins. Cool.  Mix about  cup each of milk and semi sweet chocolate and add 8 oz whipping cream. Microwave and make ganache and refrigerate for several hours. Whip in a mixer to make the frosting.  Slice the cake, put frosting in the middle and also frost the top of the cake. Pipe a few roses and then decorate with lots of candies.  https://mrchocolate.com/blogs/recipes/chocolate-almond-celebration-cake-recipe

Cheese garlic locho

  Wash thoroughly and soak 3/4 Chana daal, 1 tbsp udad daal for 5-6 hours. Add about 1/2 cup Poha and let it soak for another 10-15 mins. Drain the water, wash once more and drain the water again. Now blend it smooth (I used pulse mode) without any extra water and 2 tbsp of yoghurt (I mixed the two kinds - sour and plain). Cover and ferment in Instant pot yoghurt mode for 11 hours. Next day, add salt, turmeric, big pinch of hing, ginger green chilli paste, and a couple tablespoons of peanut oil. Mix everything by hand for a few minutes. Add water to make dosa batter consistency. Heat water in a steamer, and grease 2-3 plates. Now add 1/2 packages eno to the batter, a tsp of water and mix in one direction. Add the batter to the plates and steam for 10 mins or so  For locho masala; mix 1/4 tsp each of black salt, chat masala, red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder, black pepper powder.  Melt a tbsp of salted butter, add one clove of garlic, grated and some locho masala. Spread this butt