Author Archives: delhigrl

Persian Lentil rice with dates

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This is such a good recipe. It’s reminiscent of the Indian khichdi but better !

I modified it from this NYT one. This recipe is for 3-4 people

In a rice cooker , add 1 cup basmati, 1/2 cup small green lentils. Wash and rinse twice and add 3 cups of water, a small cinnamon stick and a pinch of saffron and salt and pepper . Let the rice cooker do its thing

In a pan, heat some oil and fry up one large onion with some salt and pepper till it’s dark brown and a little crispy. This will take about 15 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove onion and in the same oil, fry up 6-7 chopped dates in the oil with some salt and I added Aleppo pepper (about a teaspoon). Next chop up a handful of herbs (mint, cilantro, parsley). Mix all that up

Now layer the rice with the onion-date-herb mixture. Drizzle with ghee (browned butter). Enjoy with salted yogurt on the side. This dish would be great covered with foil and heated just before serving.

Dates

Fish fried Tofu

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Press out water from firm tofu using pressure or microwave it for a minute and squeeze.

In a ziploc- add sliced tofu (I sliced into fingers), pickle juice and yellow mustard with some pepper and soy sauce. Marinate for an hour or so. Drain the tofu.

In another ziploc, add about half a cup or so of fish fry (cornmeal with seasoning – I used the zatarain brand). Add the tofu and shake it around.

Fry at 350 for 3 minutes till golden brown.

We ate these in Vietnamese spring rolls with pickled veggies, jalapeños, cucumber, rice noodles, herbs and a gochugang- peanut butter sauce. So good!

Bolo de Cenoura (carrot cake)

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This is the ultimate carrot cake in simplicity (you use a food processor for everything) and taste (it’s reminiscent of gajar ka halwa- a taste very familiar to desi people). My recipe is modified from the NYT one.

Heat oven to 350 and prep a 8×8 inch square pan.

In a food processor – chop into tiny pieces – 300g of carrots, add a cup and 1/4(270g) of granulated sugar. Process till pieces are small. Add 3 eggs, 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of sour cream and homogenize everything.

Add dry ingredients to food processor (260 g or 2 cups all purpose flour , 1 tablespoons of baking powder – it’s a lot and 1 tsp kosher salt).

Pulse till everything is combined- add to pan and bake till a skewer comes out almost clean. It took me about an hour and 10 min.

Make the fudge topping while the cake is baking. 1 can of condensed milk (14 oz), 1 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp good cocoa. Heat til it just starts bubbling.

I added the fudge topping to the hot cake in the pan and let everything cool together

This cake is amazing

Kashmiri Waza Paneer

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After an annoying work day, I find a new dish relaxing. And if it turns out to be a keeper , I write the recipe down so I can remember where I found it. This is also a Ranveer Brar recipe (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BnetynMDlkw)

This style is cooking is new to me. It’s all stewed in water- the tadka, (the infusion of spices into oils that flavor the whole dish) is missing. The dominant taste here is the sweetness of the caramelized onion and butter. They work with the whole spices to form a gentle and delicious flavor.

Prep: caramelize about a cup and half of onions and then grind into a paste to give you about a 1/3 cup of onion paste. I read that caramelized shallot paste (praan) forms the backbone of wazwaan cooking in Kashmir.

Heat some water with a tsp of turmeric and some salt. Once it starts to boil- add paneer pieces and boil for about 8-10 min. Pat the pieces dry and fry them till golden brown in mustard oil (I used regular oil with some mustard seeds sputtered in them)

Start the yakhni- in a liter of water , add 4 tbsp of butter, 2 black elaichis (cardamom), 2 bay leaves and one piece of cinnamon. Add the caramelized onion and a pinch of asafetida and a tbsp of Kashmiri mirch (I used gochugaru- use any mild flavorful chili powder). Bring to a boil and simmer.

Add the paneer and simmer on low for 15-20 min.

In the meantime- take 2 tbsp of the mustard oil and add a cup and half of tomato puree. Cook on low for 15 min or so. Add 1 tbsp of dry ginger powder and 1 tbsp of fennel seeds, some sugar and some salt. Add the masala to the paneer. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Eat with pita or rice.

Hyderabadi Baingan (eggplant) ka salaan

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This is another Ranveer Brar recipe (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kDUQB97bk9k) and requires some effort but it’s worth it! The measurements here are approximate. The seasonings and the water will vary depending on the sourness of the tamarind, the sweetness of the onion etc

The base of the salaan or gravy is a peanut- sesame-coconut mixture. Roast 1/4 cup of peanuts, 3 tbsp of dried coconut and 2 tbsp of sesame seeds till they just start turning color. Low and slow. Grind to a power

Prep 2: roast 3 onions dry at 450 till charred in places. Make a paste

Prep 3: make some ginger garlic paste (about 2 tbsp worth)

Prep 4: cut and roast the baingan (eggplant) with olive oil, salt and pepper at 400 till charred in spots. About 25 min or so and I used 2 medium-large eggplants

Start curry: in a pan – add 2-3 tbsp of oil, a few chopped up green chilies, some curry leaves and the onion paste. Roast on medium for a few minutes, add the ginger- garlic paste and the coconut- peanut- sesame powder (about half cup worth) and roast for a few minutes. Add about 1-2 tbsp of cumin (jeera) powder and 1 tbsp or so of coriander (Dhania) powder. Add about a cup of water and cook at a simmer for 15 min or so. Add 1tbsp of tamarind paste, 1 tbsp of jaggery or sugar and salt to taste. Keep tasting and add cumin, coriander, salt if needed.

Once the curry tastes good, add the eggplant. Make the tadka (tempering) – with oil (about 2 tbsp)- add 1 tbsp of cumin, mustard – once the seeds pop- add some asafetida, 6-7 curry leaves. Add the tempering on the curry.

Hyderabadi egg curry

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Ranveer Brar’s recipes never disappoint. This Hyderabadi egg curry is a keeper (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2oSk-5mE3yU)

First make the masala – grind 2 cups of cilantro (one large bunch) with 1/4 cup mint (I had only dried so I used 1-2 tbsps), a large knob of ginger, 2 jalapeños, couple of cloves of garlic and about 2 tbsp of tomato puree.

In a pan, add 2 tbsp of oil, 1-2tsp of cumin seeds , some red chillies and a small chopped onion. Once the onion is brown, add the green masala, 1/3 c of yogurt, 1 tbsp of coriander powder, 1tsp of sugar and cook on low for 15-20 min.

Finish with some heavy cream (about 1|4c) and some chopped scallions . Oh and add the 5-6 eggs that I’m sure you’ve already boiled.

Harissa vegetable pot pie

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First make the crust- I used Melissa Clark’s all butter recipe .in a food processor – add 150 gm flour., 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 10 tbsp of cold unsalted butter. Pulse till the butter is broken down to pea size or smaller. Add 2-4 tbsp of ice cold water till the dough just starts to come together. Collect dough, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Next make the filling. Make 2 cups of bechamel (cook 2 tbsp of butter with 2 tbsp of flour till slightly toasty – about 1-2 min, add 2 cups of milk while whisking and whisk off and on till sauce boils). Now spice up the bechamel – I used a tbsp of Dijon and a large tablespoon of harissa paste and some salt and pepper. Taste it- it’s important that it be delicious

Add your pot pie fillings to the sauce. I used 2 boiled potatoes , some spiced tofu and about half a cup each of peas and corn. Add filling to a deep 9 inch pie pan

Roll out crust- put on pan. Bake at 400F for 30 min till it’s golden. Serve with a salad for a delightful dinner or brunch.

When it’s time to stop processing the dough

Vegan Tteoktbokki (Korean rice cakes)

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H Mart is a Korean grocery story that is a wonderland. So many ingredients! Black garlic is particularly wonderful but that’s a story for another day. Today – we will talk about Korean rice cakes or tteotbokki. YouTube tells me this is a common street food item. I got the ones with mozzarella inside from H mart along with all the other ingredients needed. My recipe is a modified version of Mangchi’s recipe. I’ve no idea if it’s accurate but it’s delicious

Step 1: add rice cakes to hot water to defrost for 30 min to an hour

Step 2: make poaching liquid- to 4 cups of vegetable stock (I used better than bouillon), add 2 tbsp of gochujang, 1 tbsp of doubanjang, 1 tbsp of gochugaru and 1 tbsp of sugar. Also add 2 spring onions (chopped into 2 inch pieces ) and 2 smashed cloves of garlic

Step 3: boil rice cakes for 20 min till the sauce is sticky. They will expand

Step 4: eat copious amounts

Eggs in pasta sauce

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Do you have pasta sauce (I did – this old favorite- the Marcella Hazan tomato and onion one)? Do you have eggs? Then you have dinner

In bubbling pasta sauce – poach some eggs for about 5 min till the whites are just set. Top with whatever you wish. I was tired and just added some red pepper flakes. But feel free to top with cheese, scallions, herbs, raw chopped onion etc etc This is delicious with garlic bread or any kind of toast.

Hearty, comforting, full of protein and ready in 5 min.

Japanese fruit sandwich with raspberry fool

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I’ve never been to Japan but I love reading about their food. Japanese milk break is the most delicious sandwich bread I’ve ever had. It’s softer than brioche but still sturdier if that makes sense. When you get Japanese milk bread – you make Japanese sandwiches. I’ve shared my egg sandwich recipe before but today we make a fruit sandwich. Japanese sandwiches have whipped cream and strawberries or kiwis between slices of milk bread. I decided to try my raspberry fool recipe as a sandwich filling.

Whip up 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1/4 cup sugar you get soft peaks. Take 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries and blitz them in the food processor till they form tiny ice shards of deliciousness. Fold into cream. This is raspberry fool and a delicious desert in itself.

Today however, we will spread a generous portion between 2 buttered slices of milk bread straight from the Asian bakery. Cut off crusts if you wish and enjoy. This is an outstanding treat.