Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 inch cinnamon stick, 2 dried red chillies
Add 1/2 an onion, sauté till softened, add 2-3 minced garlic cloves, add a large can of tomatoes puréed
Cook for 20 min, add 1 cup of cooked chickpeas
Toss with pasta, red pepper flakes and feta crumbles 
Nebraska has a 2-3 month growing season and when the basil grows high- it is time to make pesto! I like a mixture of basil and parsley in my pesto- I like the “greener” taste that parsley gives to the pesto.
Nothing goes better with pesto than fresh pasta. Today we made handkerchief pasta (Fazzoletti) -simple,silky and delicious. It is essentially ravioli sheets cut into squares. My pasta machine makes this very very easy but here Mark Bittman shows how you can use a rolling pin to achieve the same effect (https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/dining/12mini.html)
Pesto: 2 cups basil leaves, 1 cup parsley leaves, 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, 1 clove garlic, 1/2 cup Parmesan reggiano, 1/2 cup olive oil: Use food processor to make a fine paste. Stores in the refrigerator for 3-4 days
Pasta: 2 cups all purpose flour, 2 eggs, 3 egg yolks, 1 tsp salt. Make a fairly dry dough using the absolute minimum amount of water needed ( I used 2 tbsp today). It takes me 4-5 minutes using my kitchen aid stand mixer
Rolling pasta: I used the pasta attachment to my kitchen aid. Start on the first setting- run the dough through thrice (folding into an envelope each time). Decrease the setting by 1 in each subsequent run all the way to the thinnest setting (8). Use flour liberally to prevent the pasta sticking. Cut into large 4 inch squares. Cook in salted boiling water for 3 minutes or so (add the squares one at a time- they tend to stick)
Thin pesto with pasta cooking water, toss with pasta and enjoy the taste of spring.
Quick wonton soup recipe
Broth: Boil for 15-20 minutes: 1 quart vegetable stock ( I used better than bouillon), 1 tbsp garlic, 1 tbsp ginger chopped fine, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp sambal olek
Toppings:
Tofu: 1 14 oz package- stir fried till brown all around
Wontons: I used prepared potstickers (shitake and vegeatable dumplings)
Greens: wilted spinach
Herbs: cilantro, scallions
Chinkiang vinegar (or seasoned rice wine vinegar) with chopped chilies for heat
Noodles: Boiled rice noodles
Mix all together, add a squeeze of lime and some peanuts for crunch with extra sriracha if you wish
Lemon cream pie is my absolute favorite pie- so when I saw this recipe for Tamarind Cream pie from Melissa Clark- I knew I had to make it. It’s topped with a citrus whipped cream rather than a meringue This pie is tart and complex and fruity in all the correct ways with a buttery graham cracker crust. I’ve made this twice following the recipe almost precisely – this recipe works !
Preheat oven to 350F
Crust:In the food processor- add 170 g of graham crackers and pulse them into crumbs (not powder). Add 6 tbsp of melted butter and mix by hand till the crumbs are moistened. Pack into a 9 inch pie plate on bottom and 1-2 inches up the sides. Bake for 12 minutes till golden brown (this burns quickly ! Start watching from 10 minutes). Cool
Filling: Mix 1/4 cup of orange juice with 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of tamarind paste (I used the Swad brand) with 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. If you are using fresh pulp- make sure you taste it and you may have to vary the proportions to get it as tart as you wish.
In your stand mixer- whisk 4 egg yolk for 5 minutes, add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz) and slowly whisk in the tamarind orange juice mixture till just combined. Scrape down the sides to make sure everything is well incorporated.
Add to cooled pie shell and bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes till the filling is just set (jiggles slightly when moved without any browning). Refrigerate at least 2 hours (preferably overnight)
Topping: Whisk 1/2 cup whipping cream with 4 tbsp sugar till soft peaks form. Add the zest of 1 orange
Serve pie slice topped with whipping cream
I try out a lot of recipes, this one was incredible fun. I’ve only had fresh pita once, at Shaya in New Orleans. This pita turned out as good as that one in my very first attempt. If you are new to breads, this would be a good place to start. This one is modified from a David Tanis recipe from the NYT.
A pizza stone or a hot cookie sheet is essential
Make sponge: 1 cup lukewarm water, 1/4 cup chapati (or whole wheat) flour, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 2 tsp instant yeast and 1 tsp sugar. Mix well and keep in a warm place while you measure the other stuff.
In the bowl of your standmixer, add 2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp kosher salt. Add sponge- knead on low (or by hand) for 4-5 minutes. The dough should be soft. I had to add 2-4 tbsp of extra water.
Refrigerate overnight or not. The flavor is much better when you refrigerate it but it works perfectly well without this step.
Proof covered in a warm place in an oiled bowl till doubled in size (took me 90 minutes using the proofing setting at 85F in my oven).
Handle dough gently and using a bench scraper, divide into 8 equal parts. Roll gently into round balls and allow them to rest for 10 more minutes.
Preheat your oven to 475 and warm your pizza stone.
Roll each dough ball into 8 inch discs. I put them on parchment (3 at a time) and used a pizza peel to slide them onto the pizza stone. Cook for 2-3 minutes, they will puff up beautifully, use tongs to flip, cook for an additional minute and you are done!
Serve with anything – we ate them with palak paneer.
This is my version of Alu-Chole
Pressure cook for 15 min on high
1 cup of soaked chickpeas, 2 tea bags, 1 stick of cinnamon, 2 large black elaichis, 8-10 whole peppercorns, 2 cloves, half an onion whole, 1 star anise pod with 2 cups of water and 1 tsp salt
Discard whole spices and onion
In a pan- add 1 tbsp oil, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 red chilli, add 2 chopped russet potatoes (inch sized cubes). When browned a little, add 1 tbsp chopped ginger, 1 tbsp chopped garlic, 1 tsp ajwain seeds, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 2 tsp pindi chana masala and 1 14 oz can of whole tomatoes.
Cook for 5 minutes, add the chickpeas, cook for an additional 15 minutes
Add 1 tsp each amchur powder, garam masala and crushed kasoori methi,
I’ve never eaten at Eleven Madison Park even though they offer a vegetarian tasting menu. I’m waiting for my 10 year old to become a little more adventurous. But their granola is sublime. I’ve previously substituted walnuts and pecans for the pistachios and raisins for the sour cherries. I would keep the liquid proportions the same because they are perfect. I found this recipe in the NYT.
Heat oven to 300
Mix 2 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1 cup unsweetened dried coconut flakes, 1 cup shelled pistachios, 1 tbsp kosher salt (decrease if using fine salt) , 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
In a small utensil, heat 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup maple syrup and 1/2 cup light brown sugar till the sugar dissolves
Pour over dry ingredients, mix well and bake for 30-35 minutes (tossing the ingredients every 10 minutes) till golden brown
Add 3/4 cup dried sour cherries.
Enjoy however you love granola, with yogurt, milk or in our house- just snacking on it.
Garlic chips : fabulous on everything – today they are going on roasted Brussels sprouts
My way: 1 tbsp olive oil and garlic slices – microwave in 30 sec installments. Took me 1:30 min- watch them carefully – they keep cooking – take them out when pale brown
So this Tikka Masala Kit works ! I found it at Whole Foods. I used paneer – it has whole spice (cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, red chilli) which is toasted in hot oil (30 sec). The protein marinaded for 10 min is then fried in the same oil (5 min). The curry is then added with 1/4 cup of water and simmered for 5 min. I added a splash of cream and dinner was ready. I routinely make this gravy from scratch and honestly this was almost as good. 
Delhi Girl Meets Food 