Category Archives: Uncategorized

Tofu chorizo beans and slaw tacos

Posted on by
Reply

Tofu Chorizo: inspired by a purple carrot recipe I read today. Start with some oil, add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 onion, ½ a pepper, 4 cloves of garlic and 1 packet of crumbled firm tofu. Stir and roast on medium high heat till nice and brown. The original recipe added 11/2 tbsp chili powder. I added a Brazilian barbecue rub which I found in my pantry. It was a good choice – the sugars caramelized and everything turned toasty.

While the tofu was browning I

1) opened a bag of angel hair slaw

2) made my favorite slaw dressing- ¾ cup yogurt, 1 clove garlic, a handful of cilantro, half a jalapeño, 2-3 tbsp olive oil , 1 lime and my secret ingredient – 2 tsp of tahini. Give it a whir in the vitamix and season

3) opened a can of veg beans in tomato sauce

4) sliced some onions

5) toasted some tortillas

6) left the coleslaw “deconstructed” because of a fussy 9 year old

7) opened up some sour cream (for same fussy 9 year old)

Took about 30 min total and I have leftovers for lunch! The tofu chorizo technique is outstanding – I will definitely use it again perhaps with some barbecue sauce

Spinach pasta

Posted on by
Reply

My version of Spinach pasta. I start with an old favorite modified Sanjeev Kapoor saag planner base.1tbsp cumin, Olive oil, crushed whole garlic, one dried red chili- heat and then wilt 5 oz of spinach (I always cheat and use the pre washed baby spinach- I know, it’s horrible for the environment). Then add 2 cups of veg broth, boil for 15 min. Whiz through the vitamix, add 1tsp of cumin powder and 4 tbsp of heavy cream. For protein -I’ve used tofu in the past, today I fried up some vegan sausage pieces (I like smart dogs from lightlife). Boil spaghetti, toss with sauce, garnish with fried capers (my favorite garnish for pasta). If you don’t have capers, add a squeeze of lemon. Parmesan optional to top it off. My 9 year old took seconds 🙂

Tomato and preserved lemon chutney

Posted on by
Reply

ETA: works just as well with one dried lime (pierced) and I’ve started adding a tbsp of sugar in this chutney as well

I am Indian and I make many different kinds of chutneys and sauces with tomatoes.

This is my 15 min version

2 tbsp Olive oil, 1 tsp cumin seeds, asafetida pinch, 1 red chili- add one can of tomatoes blizted through the food processor with 3 cloves of garlic and 1 inch of ginger and half a preserved lemon. Cook for 15-20 min. Add 1 tsp cumin-coriander powder and 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and salt to taste (it needs lots of salt). Cook till the tomatoes are shiny and glistening.

So very good ! The vinegar comes from ketchup recipes and the preserved lemon gives the chutney it’s sour fermented umami flavor

Spring roll Dosa

Posted on by
Reply

Of all the street food in Mumbai, my favorite is the spring roll dosa

Here is my version of it

Filling: use a cast iron skillet – it’s the only thing that can potentially mimic the high BTUs of a professional kitchen’s wok. Oil, onions (1 large), 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp garlic, 1 red pepper- stir fry, add cabbage ( one packet of angel hair slaw). Stir fry for a minute till cabbage is heated through. Top with my favorite sauce of 3-4 tblsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp butter (remember not to salt this dish- the soy is plenty salty). Top with toasted sesame

Made dosa, add stuffing – so delicious

Cauliflower sheet pan pasta

Posted on by
1

My favorite sheet pan recipe: based off a Melissa Clark NYT recipe. Roast cauliflower with cumin, salt and pepper – 450 for 20 min, add pasta , dollops of ricotta, garlic, capers and breadcrumbs with melted butter- back in oven for another 10. Serve with a squeeze of lime. A weekly regular at our house

Original recipe :https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018580-spicy-roasted-broccoli-pasta

Christmas Crack

Posted on by
Reply

Never say I got nothing from Kentucky. This delicious candy was a favorite in our Kentucky clinic. All through the month of December, clinic staff would bring in sweets and this was my favorite, because it was not only the most delicious but also the easiest to make

Line a jelly roll with one box of saltines (let your kid do it). Melt 2 sticks of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar together until the sugar has melted. Pour over the saltines evenly. Slide the jelly roll pan into a 425 F oven for 3-4 minutes until it starts bubbling (careful, it burns quickly). Sprinkle with chocolate chips, allow to melt and spread with an offset spatula.

Cool and break into pieces and eat.

It’s not called christmas crack for nothing, I dare you to stop at one.

Notes for next time:

1) Use only the real saltines, I used the whole foods ones this time and they turned out a little soggy

2)I will use 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar the next time

3) I will use dark chocolate chips the next time

Butternut squash Risotto

Posted on by
Reply

I love risotto- it appeals to the khichdi lover in me. Arborio rice is fabulous for kheer and khichdi and all kinds of soupy rice dishes. My risotto “ah ha” moment came after I read a blog post on serious eats which talked about the fact that stirring continuously and using hot broth are both unnecessary. Since then risotto and me are very simpatico. Here in this recipe I use the trinity (as it’s called in Cajun cooking) of onions, garlic and peppers in place of the traditional onion, celery, garlic

Here is my recipe for risotto with butternut squash which is the king of the pumpkin family as far as I am concerned.

1 medium butternut squash- peeled and cubed into 1 inch cubes
1 medium onion – finely chopped
half a green pepper – finely chopped
2 gloves of garlic- finely chopped
5 quarts veg stock – I used a store one which is actually as good as my homemade stock
1 cup arborio rice
one splash of wine
olive oil and butter- 2 tsp
quarter cup parmesan cheese- grated

Heat oven to 400 degrees F, toss the squash with salt, pepper and olive oil and roast till pale brown and soft (around 20-25 min)

In a skillet, add butter and some olive oil, sweat the onions, garlic and peppers for 10-15 minutes until soft and just starting to brown. Add the arborio rice and after toasting it for a few minutes, add the wine (I used vermouth- I was out of white wine). When the liquid has evaporated, add the stock all at once. Keep at a simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Make sure the liquid doesn’t run out. Good risotto needs to be soupy.

At the end, add the roasted squash, top with parmesan and add a knob of butter.
Some people add a dash of cream to their dish- I do it occasionally -it does taste good.

I like this risotto with some Shiraz (but my desi taste buds like Shiraz with everything)

image

image

image