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.

Best ever cocoa brownies

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Unbelievably it’s been a year since I’ve written up a recipe. That’s sad. Ah well- here is a tried and true favorite for my comeback.

Alice Medrich is brilliant and everyone should buy Bittersweet. Her recipe is super forgiving and I’ve made it easier (microwave rather than double boiler) and I’ve replaced APF with whole wheat pastry flour (nuttier and yummier and I’ve forgotten which blog recommended that substitution)With all due respect to the master, I like my recipe more.

Firstly- oven on at 325F

Second – chop 2/3 cup of walnuts to bits (as small as you’d like) and microwave them in 30 sec installments till you start smelling the oils. If you can smell them, they are toasted just enough. Let them cool

Third- melt 10 tbsp of butter in the microwave. Cover the bowl, the butter will sputter.

Add 3/4 cup and 2 tbsp of good dark cocoa (all kinds work but the more expensive ones will lead to a better brownie) and 1 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp each of vanilla and salt. Mix well with a whisk. The original recipe calls for melting the butter in a double boiler and cooling the mixture but in my recipe we are now ready for the eggs. Add 2 large eggs and whisk them in – the grainy mixture should be nice and smooth now

Next add 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour (the original calls for 1/2 cup of all purpose flour) and beat it in with a silicone spatula till no white remains. Alice recommends doing this 40 times. Add the walnuts and stir to mix. You’d remembered to prep an 8 inch pan right? Pour mixture into said pan.

Bake for 30 min and make sure the top has set. The whole wheat flour adds an extra 5 min to the bake. Bake an additional 5 min if you’d like your brownie firmer. We like ours fudgy.

Cut into tiny bites or larger pieces. These spread happiness wherever they go.

Ottolenghi’s Beet and Ginger cake

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My Ottolenghi fandom has been well documented. All his recipes have worked for me – every single time. But this one from his book Sweet is spectacular. The frosting with its hint of ginger, the color of cake, and the taste (slightly earthy with a pop of ginger). As I said- spectacular.

As with any Ottolenghi recipe , this one begins by collecting the ingredients and prepping them. I suggest weighing them (Ottolenghi’s recipes all have weird cup measures because his recipes are devised by weight)- sugar is added to the dry ingredients here. No mixer needed except for the frosting

Preheat oven to 350 and prep an 8 inch round tin with parchment

Dry: 1 2/3c (200 g )All purpose flour, 3/4c (150g) sugar , 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt- whisk all together or sift

Wet ingredients: 1/4c (60g) sour cream, 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup sunflower oil- whisk till well combined. Ottolenghi suggests adding 1500 mg of vitamin C crushed to a powder for color. I did this and it worked

Other: 260 g coarsely peeled and grated beets ( I needed about 3 small ones), 1/2 c (100g) finely chopped crystallized ginger (steeped in boiling water for 15 min and drained), 1 tbsp finely grated orange zest ( 2 medium oranges), 2/3 c (75g) finely chopped and toasted walnuts- mix all well

Add all ingredients together and mix till it all comes together without any dry flour with a large silicone spatula

Bake at 350 F for 50-55 min. Cool to room temp (about 30 min)

Frosting- 160 g cream cheese , 1/2 c confectioners sugar, 1/3 c heavy cream and juice from finely grated 2 inch ginger piece- add all together to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on medium for 4-5 minutes till light and fluffy. Spread on cake

Eat copious amounts of cake

Jeni’s star anise ice cream with candied fennel seeds

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Before Jeni’s was everywhere – I loved it in Lexington KY where the Whole Foods would stock pints with hand written labels. Their goat cheese with cognac figs rocked my ice cream belief system. Naturally I bought her cook book as soon as it was released. Her genius is to use cream cheese in her ice cream -no eggs , no fussy thermometer readings- just the creamiest gelato style ice cream you will ever eat. Her recipe is precise, it is designed for home ice cream makers and gives results every single time.

This one is my favorite recipe from her book and is a show stopper at dinner parties. The candied fennel seeds (which every Indian adores and are the end to every Indian meal) are from Amazon or your neighborhood Indian grocery – they dissolve into gorgeous rainbow puddles.

I have modified her recipe a tiny bit since I only use 2% milk. In a saucepan – measure out 1.5 cups 2% milk, 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 tbsp light corn syrup and a pinch of salt and 5 star anise pods. Separately in 1/4 cup of milk- make a cornstarch slurry with 1 tbsp and 1tsp of cornstarch and measure out about 3-4 tbsp of cream cheese.

Heat the milk mixture over medium heat till it comes to a rolling boil and then boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat, whisk in the corn starch slurry. Heat again till mixture boils and then time the boil for 1 minute till the mixture thickens. Remove from heat – whisk in the cream cheese till it melts completely and is homogenous and creamy. Let the mixture steep in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours. Strain out the star anise and make ice cream in your favorite ice cream maker. My kitchen aid attachment takes about 20 minutes and ends up as soft serve consistency. Remove into container and layer with 1/2 cup of candied fennel seeds. Add parchment paper on top and freeze for at least 3-4 hours.

This is delicious with a cheese course and wine after dinner or just as an afternoon treat with tea.