Rasaswad

I followed the original recipe to the T on this one, and it turned out great: https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/08/apricot-pistachio-squares/ Here it is (in case internet plays tricks in the future): Base: 1 cup A.P. flour, pinch of salt, 1/4 cup sugar and a stick of butter. Run through a food processor and place on a parchment covered baking pan, and bake in 350 degrees oven for 15 mins. Cool. Filling: In the same food processor, grind together 3/4 cup pistachios, a little less than half cup sugar, a pinch of salt, and a tbsp A.P. flour. Add 4 tbsp butter and 1 egg. Spread on slightly cooled base. Top with sliced fresh apricots and bake for about 1 hour. Cool and cut into squares. 

It's been three months since we've eaten out, and missing some restaurant style food. So here's what I did: Heat a couple tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Add whole green beans, and let them cook till they shrivel a bit. Add minced garlic, whites of spring onion and chili garlic sauce. Saute for a few seconds. Then add soy sauce, vinegar, salt, red chili flakes, ground sichuan peppers, a bit of water and some sugar. Let the sauce reduce and coat the beans and serve. Original Recipe: https://dinnerthendessert.com/spicy-chinese-sichuan-green-beans/

Simple joys in life - enjoying the summer bounty... Got some really fresh sugar snap peas from the gardening lady, so here's what I did: Slice the baguette at a bias, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt. Cook in a hot grill pan until golden brown on both sides (remember to add olive oil on the other side too). Wash and de-string the peas, put them in a microwave bowl with some water and cook for 1 minute. Drain and shock with cold water. Drain properly and cut them in half at a bias. Add some fresh torn mint and basil leaves. Add salt, pepper, some white balsamic and olive oil. Set aside. On the bruschetta, add a tbsp of fresh ricotta, and top with the pea salad. Serve with some fresh salad on the side. Original recipe: https://celebratingsweets.com/snap-pea-and-ricotta-bruschetta/

Here's the original: http://cookingshooking.com/tag/how-to-make-pav-bread/ I make small adjustments and use a stand mixer. Heat 1 cup milk in microwave for a minute, slightly warm. Add 1 Tbsp sugar and 2 tsp yeast. Mix and set aside. In the mixer bowl, add 1 cup A.P. flour, and 1 cup roti atta, 1 tsp salt, 11/2 tbsp milk powder, and mix for a few seconds. Add the proved yeast + milk mixture, and mix. Once the dough comes together, add 4 tsp butter, and continue kneading until the dough is smooth (5-10 mins). Take out the dough, oil the same bowl, put it back, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 45 min-1 hour. Spray the 9X9 inch pan. Divide the dough into 16 parts, shape rolls, and set them in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise for another 45 minutes or so. About 10-15 min before the rolls are ready, pre-heat the oven at 375 degrees. Brush the rolls with milk and put the pan in the oven. Bake for 15 mins or until the rolls are golden brown. Once they are o...

Nothing extra-ordinary here, but for a bhindi lover, it's always nice to have more options: Wash and dry the bhindi, remove the stems, and cut into inch long pieces. Heat some oil, and add the bhindi pieces, and stir fry until lightly browned. In the mean time, cut some onion into really large pieces (around one inch by one inch). I also added some green peppers cut in the same size. Once the bhindi is done, lightly salt and remove in a plate, heat some more oil, and add the onions and peppers and a pinch of salt. Saute till the onion is slightly brown. You want it to stay crunchy. While that's happening, finely chop some onion, and tomatoes (you can also use pureed tomatoes). Remove onions and peppers to the same plate. Add more oil, add hing, ajwain, and chopped onion. Saute till it softens. Add some ginger garlic paste, saute for another minute, add masalas (turmeric, red chilli, corriander-cumin and amchur). Add tomatoes, salt, and saute till tomatoes soften. Add some wa...

I was watching an episode of YanCanCook, and they were making Chungdu Fish Fillet. The basic oil recipe was super useful. Heat oil, add star anise, whole cinnamon and sichuan peppercorns. Once the flavor of spices seeps into the oil, strain it out. Return the oil to the same pot. Add fermented bean chilli paste, chopped garlic, ginger, and scallions. This is the base. Also, after the dish is complete, you can add a tadka of regular oil with chopped dry red chillies and sichuan peppercorns. For Ma-po-tofu, use fermented black beans, and also add chinese celery.The key is to add cornstarch in stages to maintain the valvety texture. https://yancancook.com/home/recipe/ma-po-tofu/

My beloved Foi, who passed away this week, used to make really nice amti. Not sure if this is the recipe she followed (I had it a long time ago, so don't remember the exact taste), but this one does come close, I think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOxp38zoCNg&t=41s Boil toor daal with salt and turmeric. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and hing. Add chopped tomato and cilantro and saute for a bit. Add grated coconut, goda masala and red chilli powder. Saute again till slightly fragrant. Add the daal, salt, water, kokum, a bit of tamarind pulp and a bit of jaggery (next time add it later, so L. will like it). Let it boil for about 5-7 minutes and serve with rice.