Thanksgiving leftovers....Pozole, anyone?

Post-thanksgiving, its time for turkey-brain. I stood before the first ever turkey I roasted, wondering what to do with the all the leftover meat. I couldn't believe that we had company for dinner and yet, the turkey looked just the same in volume as it did before dinner! In our family the bird will probably last several (really, several!) more meals. 

Yesterday I managed turkey bánh mì sandwiches. Easy, really, I soaked up chopped leftover turkey in a marinade of mayo and sriracha. Then the usual  bánh mì toppings went on top of the turkey, on freshly baked bread. It was simply heavenly. But as I mentioned earlier, I had turkey-brain, no ideas appeared after that. 

Then this morning hubby who was still in full control of his intelligence, despite the turkey intake, suggested a pozole. I must say, it was a great idea. The pozole, as it bubbled away filled the house with a beautiful aroma. The taste was great; in spite of being a die hard pork fan, I loved turkey in the pozole.

Leftover Turkey Pozole

3-4 ancho chillies
Salt
4 garlic cloves roughly chopped

1 can white hominy, drained and rinsed
1-1/2 cups leftover turkey, shredded
2 whole cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 Tbsp oregano
cilantro
3 cups water or stock (to start with)

Topping:
Cilantro (finely chopped)
spring onion (finely chopped)
avocado (chopped)
lime (quartered)
Red radishes (thinly sliced)
Cabbage (thinly sliced)

In a dry pan, roast 2 cloves garlic till they get slightly brown spots. keep aside. Then roast the ancho chillies, till they start blistering. Pour water in the pan, and let the chillies soak. Add the 4 roughly chopped garlic cloves and a pinch of oregano and salt, then puree the soaking chillies etc., along with the liquid. Strain the puree through a sieve

Meanwhile in a pot, throw in hominy, turkey, bay leaf, ground cumin, oregano and roasted garlic. Pour water or vegetable stock over it. Let it come to a boil. Add the strained chili puree. Let the soup boil for a bit, adding water if necessary. Salt to taste, add cilantro.

To serve, salt the toppings, add to the pozole. This tastes yummy with tortillas or over tostadas.

Orange Almond Polenta Cake

These days Nigella Lawson features in my favorite Brits list, along with J.K.Rowling. (Of course those who've traipsed with me on my April sojourn, would know about my other favs. and no, Kate Middleton is not one of them.) In any case, her lemon polenta cake was one of the first of her recipes that I tried. But today I didn't have lemons and I really wanted something sweeter and less tart. Also I didnt want to add any butter. So I varied the recipe around and it turned out gorgeous, rustic, and yummy. I simply had to share! So here it is:
For the cake:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp orange extract
2 cups almond flour. (I had only one cup of almond flour, so I added a cup of AP flour instead. By the way, I ground my own almond flour using roasted almonds.)
3/4 cup polenta
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Orange zest

For the syrup:
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 Tblspn orange marmalade
1/3 cup orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line the base of a 9 inch spring form pan with parchment paper and grease its sides lightly or spray lightly and flour the pan.
Beat the eggs and sugar, add oil and the extract
Mix the dry ingredients together: Almond flour, AP flour if using, polenta and baking powder. Add it to the wet ingredients. Add the orange zest. Pour into the pan and bake until an inserted fork comes out clean.
Meanwhile prepare the syrup: Heat the ingredients for the syrup together until the sugar dissolves.

Remove from the oven to a wire cooling rack, but leave in its pan. Prick the cake all over, and pour the syrup over the cake.  Do this when while the cake is still warm and in the pan.

Let cool completely before removing out of the pan, sprinkle confectioners sugar on top. This is a dense, rustic cake and completely satisfying. Cut a slice and enjoy the nuttiness of the almond, crunch of the polenta and the sweet citrussy notes of the orange.

Khandvi

There are some dishes which one doesn't try for the simple reason that they look complicated. LIke Tiramisu for instance. Getting my head wrapped around the fact that there are several layers of creamy coffee flavored lusciousness with different textures mingling perfectly has to be complicated to venture.
Another dish is Khandvi. It has always been one of my favorite snacks. A snack from the state of Gujarat, these rolls made with chickpea flour melts in your mouth like a nice smooth slice of mozzarella. How does one get these rolls from a small mound of flour was totally beyond me. The tempering with spluttered mustard gives the desired crunch. Mmyum.
Last weekend I fought my fear of failure. It was a tough fight. Shedding inhibitions. Conquering the feeling of ending up with potfuls of food which could only be poured down the sink before anyone even attempts a taste. I finally rolled up my sleeves (literally) and tried out this recipe.
The results were simply mouthwatering. I am amazed at the deliciously simple method.

A cup of chickpea flour

A cup of yogurt (I used non fat, next time am going to try Greek yogurt)
2 to 2-1/2 cups water
a pinch of asafoetida powder
quarter teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt

1/2 teaspoon each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds
a few curry leaves 

2-3 green chillies, slit
chopped cilantro
Oil

Mix together chickpea flour, asafoetida, turmeric powder and salt. Add yogurt and water. Mix well. Use a whisk, it will help with removing lumps.

Prep the rolling surface. I spread aluminum foil on my counter-top. Then spread a teeny bit of oil on it. You can use any flat surface like the back of a steel plate (thali) or a cookie sheet.

Now pour the chickpea mixture into a pot and heat on medium heat. Keep stirring, use a whisk. Beware of lumps! The mixture will thicken soon enough. Turn off heat.

Pour a bit of the mixture on the Al foil and then using a spatula (I used a crepe turner) spread the mixture as thin as you can. Wait about 10 minutes. Then start at one end and roll up the thin sheet which would have set by now. Cut into 1 inch pieces.

For the seasoning: Heat oil, add mustard. After the mustard splutters, add cumin, sesame seeds, then add curry leaves, peppers. Pour this seasoned oil over the rolls.Garnish with chopped cilantro.

You can serve these Khandvis with cilantro and mint chutney. I gobble them up just by themselves.

There's a lovely video by Show me the curry here.

Almond biscotti

Biscotti and coffee. Nuff said.

The original recipe was sent to me from Biaggi's restaurant, (Biscotti di Prato) and this version has never failed me yet. I have made it in the high altitude region of Colorado and the humid and low altitude of Minnesota.

My main concern with the biscottis I have tasted at several coffee shops in the US, is the smell of eggs that permeate through the biscuit after dunking it in coffee. Nothing puts me off more than the waft of egg smell through my pastries. This version solved that problem for me. As RR puts it, Yumm-O!

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, unsalted, softened
2 eggs
1/4 tspn almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (if I feel like having another layer of spice)
2-1/2 cups AP flour
1 cup sliced almonds

Beat together sugar and butter until it becomes nice and smooth, add eggs, almond and vanilla, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and nutmeg if using. Beat for a bit. Add flour slowly, and then add the almonds. Make a log 12"x3" if you want large biscottis, otherwise make two logs. The width of the log will determine the biscotti size. I prefer making smaller ones most of the time.

Bake in a 350 deg preheated oven until golden and done. Cool well. Cut across into 1/2 inch or so thick slices. Reduce heat to 300 deg, and bake, arranging the slices cut side down, flat on cookie sheets. Bake until nicely golden brown. Cool on a rack.


Additional tip: Melt dark chocolate in a saucepan on a double boiler. Dunk the cooled biscotti halfway through. Lay on a cooling rack, until the chocolate has set. Mmyummy! I have never tried with white chocolate but it should work as well.

Make your favorite coffee and do the dunking!

Enjoy!

Oyster mushroom and pea risotto with hot french fried onions

Today in a conversation my friend Heidi mentioned the various different ways she uses french fried onions. Usually the crunchy topping for green bean casserole, she tops her hot dogs with it. Gave me an idea, in a weird way. Hence today's dinner.

Topping

French fried onions
Sri Racha sauce (I added a teaspoon to half a cup of onions, add less or more according to taste, or mood)
Heat oven to 275 degrees. Mix the sauce with the onions and spread on a cookie sheet. Heat in the oven for about 5-7 min. Turn oven off and keep warm until you are ready to serve it. I used store bought onions.

Risotto:

Olive oil (1 Tblspn)
1 Bay leaf
white wine (half a cup)

Vegetable broth (~6-8 cups)
Onions, diced (half onion)
Garlic diced (3 garlic)
Arborio rice (2 cups)
Oyster mushrooms, chopped (1-1/2 cups)
Peas (1/2 cup)
Parsley
Parmesan cheese (upto 1/4 cup)

Heat the broth until it simmers. Lower the heat and keep it simmering all through the process.

Heat oil, add chopped onions and garlic, fry until translucent. Add rice and fry until rice becomes slightly opaque. Add wine and stir until the wine is absorbed. Add hot broth, one ladle at a time, constantly stirring, and waiting until the broth has evaporated before adding the next ladle.  Repeat until almost cooked. Add the mushrooms and peas. Add broth and stir until the rice is cooked al dente, do not wait until it is mushy. Add cheese, stir. Stir in the chopped parsley.

Serve topped with the spicy french fried onions.

It's really yummy in the tummy!

Rigatoni with mushrooms in roasted butternut squash sauce

Fall's here. And with it, gusts of wind bringing a rain of gold and red. Leaves everywhere. Slight nip in the air.
The perfect time for butternut squash. We got a beautiful golden squash with nice glowing orange flesh. Ofcourse the first dish was butternut squash risotto. But the pasta sauce made with leftover roasted butternut squash turned out really mouthwatering slobberlicious.

Butternut squash
extra virgin olive oil (half a tsp or so)
Salt
Seasoning (Mix equal Onion powder,Garlic powder,Cumin powder, Oregano, Marjoram) about a tblspn for one squash
Garlic, chopped finely.
Mushrooms, chopped
Milk or cream ( I used milk but I think cream would be as good and make the sauce smoother)
Parsely
Olive oil
Crumbled feta cheese

Cut squash into cubes and mix with oil and seasoning blend, spread on a baking sheet and roast at 375 F until cooked through.
Cool. Blend coarsely
Boil water, salt it and throw in the rigatoni
Meanwhile, in a pan, heat olive oil, add the garlic, add a pinch of salt.
Add the chopped mushrooms, salt it and fry until the edges of the mushroom are golden brown.
Add the butternut squash puree and milk/cream
Add chopped parsley
Check for pasta to be al dente, drain.
Add the sauce to the pasta, top with crumbled feta cheese.
Yum Yum.

'Not fried' green tomatoes

Today a friend passed on to me great heirloom tomatoes from her absolutely lush garden. And I remembered a recipe from my pal from a long time ago. Maya's favorite accompaniment with rice, this was what she cooked most times for dinner. She would tell me in a story of self critical mirth that she made it only six days a week.

Maya's tomato chutney is a traditional recipe from Karnataka, from her mum's kitchen. Its usually made with ripe red tomatoes but I discovered today that it tastes fantastic with green ones! Here's my version. Delicious with hot fresh bread. Use as a spread with slices of cucumber, and you have a delectable sandwich.

Green tomato chutney

1/2 tablespoon oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp dry minced garlic
1 dry red chilli
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika powder (more if you want it spicier)
salt to taste
1 tblspn urad dal or chana dal (split chickpeas)
A wee bit of sugar
1 cup chopped green tomatoes

In a pan, heat oil (med. heat) and add cumin seeds, fry for almost a minute until the seeds turn slightly brown. Add coriander seeds and the dry minced garlic and dry red chilli, fry for about a minute. Add the dal. Fry until the dal becomes golden brown, add the tomatoes. Add salt, sugar and paprika powder. Fry. Turn heat to low and cook well, about ten minutes at least. Let the mixture cool. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend into a paste. Keeps well for at least a week in the fridge.

Tofu bhurji

This is a great take on Egg Bhurji the quintessential Mumbai spicy scrambled egg breakfast paired with soft fresh buttered buns or Paav. mmyum! I made this version with extra firm tofu, but I guess one can make it with softer tofu as well.

Cumin seeds
Onion (chopped)
Ginger (small piece)
Turmeric
Red chili powder
Pickled peppers (chopped)
Green peppers (finely chopped)
Tofu
Peas (a couple tablespoons of frozen peas would work well)
Tomato (chopped)

In about a couple tsps of olive oil, add a tsp of cumin seeds, fry for a minute then add onion and ginger and fry until onion gets translucent. Add half tsp of turmeric, and red chili powder. Add green peppers, pickled peppers, peas. Stir for a couple minutes, then add crumbled tofu. Fry well on high heat. Add tomatoes. Stir well.
Remember to season with salt at every point right from the onions to the tomatoes.

This would be great as a bruschetta, on sliced, toasted french baguette, rubbed with garlic.

I'll post pictures the next time I make it again, which I suspect will be soon, judging from the way it turned out today!

P.S.  I thought I'd add this as a comment, since I saw this now. But I can't add links to comments for some reason. I saw a wonderful recipe using tofu, similar one, by my friend Vaishali. She pairs her bhurji with wonderful bagels as a breakfast item. Super! Here.

Easter breakfast

Easter and eggs seem to be almost synonymous. Eggs have always been the mark of spring. Well, then I came across one of my favorite grandmas...Paula Deen! Her French toast casserole sounded perfect for breakfast. But ofcourse you know me, I cant stick to a recipe. Maybe that's why I was so bad at Chemistry or baking bread as a matter of fact. So here's a pumped up version of her breakfast goodie. And it was really yummy, if I may say so myself. The orange liqueur does a great job with the raisins and cranberries. Paula's idea of praline topping is phenomenal. Only, I didn't have ingredients so I had to make my own version.


Toast with a twist!
10-12 slices of bread (slice bread an inch or so thick)
4 large eggs
1 cups half-and-half and 1/2 cup milk or 1/2 cup cream and 1-1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons (tblspn) sugar
1 teaspoon (tspn) vanilla extract
1/4 tspn ground cinnamon
1/4 tspn ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
Raisins and cranberries
Orange liqueur
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup
Add raisins and cranberries to a small bowl and pour orange liqueur until it barely covers the dry fruit. Soak for an hour. Generously butter a flat baking dish.  In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Arrange a layer of bread slices overlapping the slices a bit. Layer the soaked raisins and cranberries. Arrange the remaining bread on top. Pour the egg-milk mixture over the bread slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate for a few hours, overnight if you like.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the maple-almond praline topping evenly over the bread and bake for ~ 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. A plumped up version of the ever comforting bread pudding!

Maple almond praline topping:
1 tblspn butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped roasted almonds
1 tblspn maple syrup
1/4 tspn cinnamon pwdr
1/4 tspn nutmeg pwdr
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Peppers and Tofu curry

Last Saturday, I had a craving for a spicy curry which refused to go away. A hot spicy, coconut based, chicken curry. Well, I had decided I am switching to being vegetarian for a while, so I had to put on my thinking cap to decide about a vegetarian ingredient able to stand up to the spice and layers of flavor offered by curry. Potatoes, Chickpeas, all were out. So in walked Tofu. I figured extra firm could stand to all the boldness. I just had to tweak the curry a bit. I must say it turned good enough I simply had to share the recipe!

Coriander seeds 1 tblspn
Grated fresh coconut 1/4 cup
Cloves 3-4
Black peppercorns 5-6
Cinnamon stick 1/2 inch
Red onion 1 medium
Garlic 3 cloves
Curry leaves
Oil
Cumin seeds1 tspn
1 to 1-1/2 Green bell peppers, chopped into inch size pieces
1 cup extra firm tofu, cut into inch size cubes.

Roast coriander seeds. Add cloves, cinnamon and peppercorns, roast for a couple minutes. Keep aside. Roast coconut add curry leaves and roast for a couple minutes more. Fry onion and garlic keep aside. Add all the above ingredients to the blender and grind to a smooth paste. You can add upto 1/2 cup of water.


Heat 1/2 tblspn oil (I used olive oil) in a pan, fry the tofu till the surface of the cubes become brown. Take the tofu out, onto paper towels. To the pan, add 1 tblspn oil, when oil is heated, add cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds start changing color, add the green pepper and fry well in high heat. Turn the heat to medium, add the ground paste, and enough water to make a thick gravy. Add salt to taste. When the pepper has softened, add the tofu. Simmer for a bit. Serve with hot rotis or hot basmati rice.

If you'd like it spicier, add a tspn of red chili powder to the cloves, cinnamon and peppercorns and roast for a bit.

Marshmallowed Granola Brittle

I found the seeds of this recipe on a bag of marshmallows, which was a take on rice crispy squares, but I found that the dish turned much more interesting in this avatar.

Oats - 1-1/2 cup
Almonds,Walnuts,Cranberries,Dates,Raisins,Sunflower seeds - 1 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon
Oil/butter - 1 tablespoon
Marshmallows - 1 cup

Mix oats and oil, toast well. I used a wok for this. Really works well. Roast the nuts separately.
Mix the oats, vanilla essence and the dry fruits well. Add the marshmallows over the mixture. Microwave for 1 minute on high, the marshmallow will puff up nicely. Bring it out of the microwave oven and mix quickly before the marshmallows set. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1/4 inch thick. Let it stand at room temperature until the mixture cools completely. Break into pieces and enjoy!

This makes for a slightly sweet brittle. If you'd like it sweeter, use more marshmallows.

Giving thanks

Lately, it has been feeling as though we're enveloped in the a Tolkienian dark times of the world and I seemed to be forever asking for something. So when a few years ago, my close friend from Sweden decided to do a traditional Thanksgiving, I jumped at the opportunity. It was an opportunity for optimism. Neither she nor I are Americans, but this US holiday was just the thing we needed.
I remember before that meal, when we started giving thanks, I thought there was nothing going right in my life: I had gone through a major operation, a divorce, and was living far away from family, trying to cope with everything. But then, in a moment, my list of good happenings started growing. I had survived. I was in fair health. I had fantastic friends with me. Soon the list got longer and longer. The tradition stuck in my life. I have celebrated Thanksgiving ever since, and it has always given me a fresh perspective on life.

For this year's thanksgiving, I made a cran-goji berry sauce, which if I am to say so myself, turned out finger licking good! The goji berries give a wonderfully sweet fragrance to the sauce, complementing the tartness of the cranberries. The cumin adds a nice smokiness to the sauce.

Cran-goji berry sauce:

1/2 cup cranberries (dried)
1/2 cup goji berries (dried)
3/4 cup orange juice (preferrably with pulp)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tspn cumin powder
2 to 2-1/2 tablespoons sugar (depending on how tart the cranberries are, and how sweet you want the sauce to be)
pinch of salt.

Soak the berries in a bowl of water until they plump back up. (I think you can use fresh cranberries but I decided to go with dried since I had dried goji berries on hand) Add the rest of the ingredients and boil until the berries are soft. The sauce thickens as it cools. And it's even better the next day!

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Kaiypakya theeyal

This thick aromatic, curry with kaiypakya or bitter gourd reminds me of festivals at my mother's home. Onam after the monsoons and Vishu heralding the spring and new year demands this curry at the feast. So when Sujala asked for my mom's recipe, I went directly to the source for the authentic formula. So here it is, Sujala especially for you with comments from mummy. Thanks, Vaishali for passing on Sujala's request to me.

1 bitter gourd
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chilly powder (add more if you like your curry hot, really also depends on how hot the chilly powder is)
tamarind pulp
1/2 cup shredded fresh coconut
4 tspn coriander seeds
1/4 medium onion
curry leaves
mustard seeds.

Chop the bitter gourd into small pieces (Remove seeds if they are mature. If the gourd is too bitter, just rinse it in cold water. If you want to remove all the bitterness, wash in salted water. Try not to, however since most of the nutrients get washed off as well).
Fry the gourd in a little (very little) oil, keep aside.
Boil some water with turmeric, chilly powder, salt. Cook the gourd.
Add tamarind pulp (My comment: I added about a tablespoon but then the pulp was too sour so I added a bit of sugar to cut the sourness)

Meanwhile, roast the coconut, till it gets brown, keep aside. Then roast coriander seeds, keep aside. Then roast the onion, curry leaves. Grind well with a little water.
Add to the bitter gourd. Boil for a few minutes. Turn heat off. The curry should be nice and thick.

In a small kadai, add oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves (Wait for the mustard seeds to splutter before adding the curry leaves).  Pour this seasoning into the curry.
You can also make this curry with pearl onions in a similar fashion.

Enjoy with parboiled rice. (And other Malayali curries.) And ofcourse fried pappadams


Comment:
Here is a wonderful variation by Sujala Chaudhari. She substituted Arbi (Colocasia, a form of Taro) for bitter gourd. She couldnt upload the picture so I had to put it in the body of the posting.
Here is Sujala's Arbi theeyal. Wonderful substitution, thanks for the suggestion, Sujala!

Contessa's chocolate cake with mandarin hearts

Chocolate cake cravings are uncontrollable. When you want to have it, you got to have it. So today I baked, different because I rarely bake, its very difficult for me to stick to exact quantities.

This is a take on Barefoot Contessa's chocolate cake.

Dry ingredients:
1 and 3/4 cups A.P. flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
 2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
four shots espresso

1/2 to 3/4 can preserved mandarin

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Butter a bundt cake pan, and flour it.

Sift the dry ingredients together, and combine them thoroughly. Combine the wet ingredients and then add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine at low speed. Add the espresso. Pour half the batter into the pan, lay mandarin slices on top and pour the remaining batter. Bake for about 45 min.

Next time I shall add 1/2 cup toasted and coarsely chopped almonds. The cake batter is a bit thin. But the cake turns out really moist and very chocolatey.

What a fruitcake!

I know that this may bring on guffaws, but fruitcake is serious business. Especially rum-fruit cake. The 'aunties' I know from Kerala would make this a good week before Christmas because they sit so well and they taste better and moister as time goes by. I found several recipes (a wonderful one here) online and finally decided on a combination to make this cake.

Raisins - 1/4 pound
Dates- 1/4 pound
Candied fruits, Orange
and Lemon peel - 1/4 cup
Plum, Cherry, Cranberry,
other dried fruits - 1/4 cup
Gold Rum - 1/4 cup
Cashewnuts(chopped) - 1/2 cup

Chop up the dried fruits, mix the fruits with rum. Keep at room temperature for a day.

    All purpose flour - 1 cup
    Baking powder - 1 tsp
    Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp
    Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp
    Cloves powder- 1/4 tsp
    Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp

    Butter - 1 stick, softened
   Sugar - 1 cup

Eggs - 3
Salt - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, cloves powder and dry ginger powder well. Sieve it if needed. Add fruits, nuts to the flour and mix well.

Whisk the butter and add sugar and whisk well, until it is creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, salt and then the flour mix, mix well. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.  Pour batter into the pan and bake. Cool the cake on a cooling rack, cover the cake with tin foil, refrigerate for about 3-4 days.

Vermouthed chicken with Orzo

What can I say, I love the Barefoot Contessa.  Ina's recipes are usually very much on the dot. However yesterday I strayed away. I wanted to make Coq au Vin but my pantry was a bit empty. So I made do with the ingredients I had. And for dinner we had:

Vermouthed chicken with Orzo:

Italian sausage, cut into pieces
Chicken, cut into small pieces,
Salt, black pepper
1 onion, sliced
3 - 4 roasted garlic pods
1/4 cup vermouth
1 cup vegetable stock
a couple of thyme sprigs
Mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup roasted peppers (marinated in vinegar)
1/2 cup diced canned tomatoes

Olive oil

Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the sausage over medium heat, remove to a plate.

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken pieces in the same oil. Remove.

Add the onions to the pan and stir until they turn translucent. Add the mushrooms and stir till they are slightly browned. Add the vermouth, and then the sausage, chicken. Add the garlic, chicken stock, roasted peppers tomatoes and thyme and cook for about 20 minutes on medium heat.

Meanwhile cook orzo until al dente as directed on the package. Add extra virgin olive oil.

Serve the chicken with the vegetables and orzo, hot. Yum.

I used boneless chicken breast, but the next time on, I will probably go with bone in chicken. And also, capers may be a good idea.

Tofu jiaozi for Tuesday

Tuesdays are vegetarian days for me, my small shot at self discipline. So when Vaishali announced her vegan Chinese challenge, I though it would be a wonderful thing to try for Tuesday dinner. It would be a wonderful way to curb that Chinese craving I have been having ever since I read about the challenge.

During her trip to my place last month, Xiaoying had taught me to make pork dumplings (jiaozi)the way she used to, in Shanghai. It was just a simple matter of a proper protein substitute to veganize it. I must admit that it turned out really really well.
This dish goes to Its a vegan world: Chinese at Vaishali’s site.

Tofu dumplings

Wrapper: I used store bought wrappers, but I have made jiaozi wrappers with flour, and water, mixed to make a stiff dough, and rolled out into thin, 3.5" circles.

Filling (for about 10-12 dumplings):
1/2 cup Soft tofu
1/2 cup Cabbage (Napa is the best, but even the usual cabbage will work) chopped real fine.
1/2 inch ginger piece, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 serrano/thai pepper (optional and depends on how hot you want the dumpling to be)
1 tsp soy sauce
salt to taste

Mix the filling ingredients.

Take a wrapper, and place about a tablespoon filling to one side of the circle. Moisten the edge of the circle. Fold the other side of the circle and seal. You can either pinch the edges to make it nice and frilly or use a fork to press the edge.

Meanwhile bring water to a boil in a pot. Add a few dumplings to the water. Wait till the dumplings rise to the surface. Add cold water, bring it back to a boil. By this time, the dumplings should be ready to be taken out.

Serve hot with a mix of soy sauce and sriracha hot sauce.

If there are leftovers, you can refrigerate it, and then just pan fry before you serve again. Dont microwave.

Potato Carrot Corn Soup

It has been snowing incessantly since yesterday. Its surprising since its not even November and it looks like winter has made its announcement. Early announcement. I have never seen such an early snowstorm. But then again this is a different year. A lot of things have happened, a new turn in my life, a move.


About 7000 ft above sea level here and its cold, cold, cold..

So I think its time for some soup and hot bread. I have lots of potatoes in my fridge, so what better than a warm comforting bowl of potato soup?

1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 yellow onion
3-4 garlic pods
3 russet potatoes
1 cup white corn
2 tbsp olive oil
vegetable stock (optional)
handful of parsley

I like to make my soups in a dutch oven, very conducive to slow cooking for a long time. Fry the onions in the oil, when the onions turn golden, add the carrots and garlic. Add a little salt and freshly ground pepper. When the carrots soften, add water, then potatoes.
When the potatoes are cooked, I used a hand blender in the pot to blend the ingredients. Then add some more water/vegetable stock, add the parsley and the corn and salt to taste.
Add cream if you like before you serve. I added lots of cracked pepper.

Hmm, tastes great with warm bread.

A wonderful treatment for the cold blues.

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A friend of mine, Saba Gaziyani is probably the only food stylist in India at present. I have followed her career from the time she went through culinary school in Mumbai and am more than happy to see her reach her creative potential and surpass everyone's expectations. She's started her blog, Gourmet Funk  recently and I must say, that her food portrayals are really the foodscapes that dreams are made of.

Food Photographics

Asian style chicken 'popcorn'

I concocted this a while ago on a day when I really craved to sink my teeth into some flavorful chicken appetizer. And this worked really well! Monu, I am sure you would enjoy making this (sorry, though since its me, i just use andaaz se spices)!

Chicken breast
ginger
garlic
soy sauce
lemon juice
black pepper powder
hot sauce
egg
bread crumbs
Chopped green onions for garnish.

cut chicken breast into 1/2 inch cubes. In a ziploc bag, add soy sauce, pepper powder, thinly sliced ginger and garlic, a couple drops of lemon juice. Add the chicken cubes, seal the ziploc bag, squeeze out as much air as possible. Leave the marinating chicken in the fridge overnight.

In a bowl, beat eggs, add salt, a few drops of hot sauce and pepper.
In another bowl, add breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and chilli powder.
Heat oil in a pan
Dip the chicken cubes first in the egg batter, then in the bread crumbs and then shallow fry in medium hot oil till they are brown and crispy on the outside.

Garnish with chopped green onions.

Serve hot with ketchup or hot sauce.