Cracked Wheat Khichadi

I had tried cooking cracked wheat a few times on the stove top but it took so long. And the result was unpredictable. A friend suggested the pressure cooker. My mother made khichadi in the pressure cooker so I decided to make cracked wheat khichadi. The end result was pretty good.

You will need
2 cups cracked wheat
1 onion, chopped
1 Serrano pepper, deseeded and minced
2 tomato, chopped
2 carrot, chopped
1 Russel potato, chopped
15-20 green beans, chopped
5-6 curry leaves
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. asafoetida
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. coriander cumin powder
1 tbsp. olive oil

Wash and drain the cracked wheat and keep aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add the curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Next add the onion, Serrano pepper, carrots and potato and cook for about 5 minutes. Next add the tomatoes and the coriander cumin powder. Mix well.

Add the cracked wheat. Season with salt. Place in a pressure cooker.

Cook for 10 minutes after the pressure has built up. This is equivalent to one whistle. Turn off heat and let the pressure drop. 

 

Transfer the khichadi to a serving bowl and serve hot with pickle and papad.

Tilgul for Sankrant (Sesame seeds and Peanut wadi)

Today is Sankrant. It is the day the sun begins its journey from the southernmost point as seen from the earth towards the north. It is celebrated on the 14th of January every year. Sankrant is the rare Hindu festival that is celebrated by the Solar calendar.

My earliest memories of Sankrant, is memory of tilgul. The smell of roasted sesame seeds and peanut with cardamom. In Goa, it is also a memory of a big event on the social calendar. Women dressed up in fine sarees visiting their neighbors to exchange tilgul and other sweets. It is a memory of happy times.

This is my grandmother's recipe. The resulting tilgul is melt in your mouth soft and smells really good. I have never enjoyed the jaw breakers that are made in the name of tilgul. My mother, and my grandmother before her, used jaggery. I use white polished sesame seeds. You could use the unpolished brown sesame seeds too.

You will need
2 cups sesame seeds, roasted and ground coarsely
1 cup peanuts, roasted and ground coarsely
1 cup packed jaggery
1 tbsp. ghee (clarified butter)
2 tbsp. water
6 cardamon pods

Prepare a baking sheet with edges or similar flat surface by rubbing it with a little ghee. Keep aside. Shell the cardamom pods and pound the seeds. Keep aside.
Heat the jaggery, ghee and water in a pan until the sugar melts. Let it come to a boil. As soon as it starts to bubble turn off the heat. Add the powdered sesame seeds, peanuts and cardamom. Mix well. Transfer it to the baking sheet. Using the moistened bottom of a glass pat down the mixture in a level 1 to 2 inch thick layer. Cut it into 2 inch squares and let them rest for 15-20 minutes. Using a spatula remove the squares and store in a air tight container. The tilgul last for 2-3 weeks.

Vegetarian Paneer Waterzooi (Belgian soup)

This is my third day blogging for the Blogging Marathon and the theme is European Cuisine. This recipe is from Belgium. Waterzooi literally mean watery mess, a very delicious mess, I may add.

In my quest to cook something I had never heard of before I started searching for recipes and found a very interesting blog. It had details for an event for Italians cooks. They were planning on cooking European dishes starting with every letter of the alphabet. There was a list of recipes for every letter and blog links where it would be hosted. Unfortunately, the blogs that were linked were unreadable as they were written, I think, in Italian. I did spend some time reading recipes translated by Google. Very amusing!

I found Waterzooi listed for the letter W and happened upon this version of the recipe. It was sent to the New York times by Julia Child in 1987. You will find it here and I bet you will find her write up interesting. Now Waterzooi is made either with fish or chicken. I did not want to use either. So I decided to substitute paneer in place of the chicken. The recipe also called for wine, which I never keep in my pantry and egg yolks, that I decided to leave out.

I truly did not know what to expect when I served it for dinner but it was most loved. My daughter declared, "Mom, this is a keeper". She even took it in a thermos as her school lunch the next day. I think  part of the reason the dish was such a hit was because of the home made stock I added to it instead of using store bought. I was on a roll so I even decided to bake the baguette to go with it.

I am the first to admit that I am a rank amateur when it comes to food photography. Unfortunately, most of the pictures did not come out too well even by my standards. I was trying a new setting on my camera and messed up.

You will need
2 sticks celery
2 carrots
1 leak, white and tender green only
1 onion
4 oz. paneer cubes
1/2 tsp. fennel
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
a bunch cilantro, minced

Julienne the celery, carrots, onion and leak to the size of a matchstick.

In a large pan layer the vegetables and paneer cubes alternately with a vegetable layer on the top and bottom. Add salt and pepper to taste and the fennel seeds. Now pour the stock until most of the vegetables are covered. Once you are done bring the stock to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 25 minutes. Uncover the pan and using a ladle remove most of the liquid to a bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk the cream with the cornstarch. Ladle the hot liquid into the cream and whisk. This allows the cream to be heated to the temperature of the liquid. Test seasoning. Return the creamed liquid to the pan and heat through. Turn off heat. Serve hot with a French baguette.

Kärntner Kasnudeln (Carinthia Noodles)

This is my second day blogging for the Blogging Marathon and the theme is European Cuisine. I wanted to try recipes that I had never tried before. This is a recipe I had never heard of before. This is an Austrian recipe from the region of Carinthia. The source of this recipe is the official travel guide to Austria.

Carinthia is the southernmost province in Austria. With over 200 lakes it is tourist destination. Being a border province the food is influenced by the neighboring states. Kärntner Kasnudeln is one such recipe.

Kasnudeln or noodles are made from scratch usually with all purpose flour. I wanted to use whole wheat flour. I used a combination of wheat flour, semolina and all purpose flour to create the coarse texture needed for the recipe. The color of the finished noodles reflected the presence of the wheat flour but the taste was unaffected and we enjoyed eating a healthier version of the noodle.

The recipe called for a cheese called Bröseltopfen, which is a low fat quark. I took a chance and asked at my local Whole Foods and sure enough they had a tub of quark made in Vermont.

The cheese is labeled "European style fresh cheese". It has a unique flavor close to that of ricotta but not the same. If you are unable to find quark you should be able to substitute ricotta. However, it will affect the taste.

This was the first time I made noodles from scratch and found that it is a fairly easy process. Not sure why I never tried it before. The mantra to good noodle is 'knead baby knead'. 'Knead till you sweat' is what I read in a book. I thought that would be hard to do with 40 F outside. Who knew kneading was such a workout? I was sweating by the time I was done, but the dough had the required smooth texture. Alternately, I could have used my food processor.

This recipe opened new doors for me. I can see myself making ravioli and other stuffed pasta using whole wheat flour. When I make this recipe again I will be sure to divide each ball of the dough further into two. The noodles were way too big.

Substitute cilantro or thyme or a mild smelling herb in place of mint if you find the smell of mint overpowering. I love mint but my daughter insisted it was too strong.

You will need
For the dough
3/4 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup semolina
1 egg
1 tbsp. olive oil

For the filling
5 oz. cooked potato
8 oz. quark cheese (or ricotta cheese)
2 tbsp. mint, chopped
2 tbsp. onion, chopped fine
1 thin sliver of butter

In a bowl add the flours and semolina. Make a well in the center. Beat an egg in a separate bowl and pour it in the well made with the flour. Using a fork first and then your hands work the egg into the flour. Using water work the flour into a dough. Using a tbsp. of olive oil on your hand knead the dough for at least 5 minutes until the texture of the dough changes completely. It should be smooth and soft to the touch. Place the ball of dough in a plastic wrap and keep aside for 45 minutes.

Pressure cook the potato, then peel and grate it into a bowl. Keep aside.
Heat a sliver of butter in a pan and add the onion for a couple of minutes. Add the chopped mint and season with salt.

Add the onions and the quark cheese to the grated potato. Add salt to taste and mix together. Divide into 8 parts. Start heating water in a large pan.

Take the dough and divide into 8 pieces. (After I was done I realized I could have made 16 smaller Kasnudeln instead of 8 large ones). Take one of the pieces of dough and knead it with your fingers. Keep the rest of the pieces covered in the plastic wrap. You do not want it to dry out. Using as little all purpose flour as possible roll the ball into a thin disk. Place one portion of the filling in it.

Moisten with water the edges of the disk and fold in half. Press the edges together and form a decorative trim.

Keep it covered under a moist towel. Repeat with the other 7 pieces of dough. Put the finished Kasnudeln in the heated, almost boiling water 4 at a time or as many as the pan permits. Let them cook for about 12 minutes. They will float to the surface.

Heat an empty dish in a microwave for a minute. Transfer the cooked noodles to the dish. Repeat for all the noodles. Drizzle melted butter over the top and serve.

French Crepes with Banana and Nutella

This month I joined bloggers on the Blogging Marathon (BM) for their 36th edition. I made a 2 week commitment for 6 recipes. I figured I could manage 6 recipes without bailing out and that would give me time to decide whether this is something I can do on an ongoing basis.  

Over the last ten days I have enjoyed the little peek that I have gotten into the world of the marathon bloggers. I have also enjoyed finding recipes for the theme I picked and my family has enjoyed their dinner.

As soon as the themes were announced I started planning. I love to plan ahead. In my opinion having a career while raising a family can be achieved only with meticulous planning and now it is second nature. As such, the day after the themes were announced I found an hour to spare and looked up recipes I would like to cook. My teenager, the procrastinator, said "Mom, you really should just go with the flow. Why do you have to plan everything?" I replied, "Honey, I am going with the flow I just like to nudge the flow in the direction I want." Once I had all the ducks in a row I was happy.

The first theme I picked, from all the themes for this edition of the BM, was European Cuisine. Ever since we visited Paris and had French crepes I wanted to try them out at home. So naturally I picked sweet crepe as my first recipe.

Most regions in the world have a preparation similar to a crepe, some with fermented batter some without. Like the dhirdi from Maharashtra, French crepe batter is not fermented. Dhirdi contains a combination of besan, rice flour, rawa, chestnut powder, wheat flour or any other flour you may have handy. Just like crepes the batter is allowed to rest for a couple hours and then cooked in thin sheets on the pan.

Crepes are very popular in French. They are a common street food and a common breakfast food. There is even a day in Early February on which most families in France prepare and eat crepes. We visited Paris in summer so we had strawberry crepes. I wanted to make sweet crepes and use fresh fruit but could not find fresh strawberries so I switched to banana instead.

You will need
For the crepe
1 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs or 1 cup water
1.5 cups milk
a pinch of salt

For the filling
2 sliced bananas
5 tbsp. Nutella

1/8 tbsp. butter

Mix all the ingredients for the crepe and let it rest for a couple of hours. The batter should be fairly runny in order to make thin crepes. Use milk to thin it out if needed.

Heat a griddle pan on medium high heat. Spread the butter around to prepare the pan. Pour a ladle full of batter and spread it around either by turning the pan around or spreading the batter using the back of the ladle in a circular motion in ever expanding circles.

Let it cook for about a minute. Test the bottom to ensure it is brown and flip the crepe over.

When the second side is cooked flip the crepe over again and fold in half. Spread a tbsp. of Nutella on the surface using a butter knife.

In the center add the bananas.

Fold the sides to form a cup and serve hot.

Baked Apple

A whole cored baked apple with a tablespoon of light brown sugar and raisins is a delicious way to eat your daily apple. This is a very simple recipe. The time taken is mainly in the oven.

You will need
Baking apple like Fuji, Golden delicious etc.
1 tbsp. light brown sugar per apple
5-6 raisins per apple
1 tsp. butter

Preheat oven to 350 F. Wash and core the apple. Using a knife score around the perimeter of the apple.

Mix together brown sugar and raisins. Stuff the core of the apple with the mixture.

I forgot to score the apple so I did it after it was stuffed. This step is very important or the skin will burst in the oven.

Place the butter on the top and put in the center rack of the oven.

Cook for about 40 minutes or until the apple is softened.

Let it rest for a few minutes. Serve will it is still warm. Makes a great afternoon snack for kids.

Rava Idli (Semolina idli)

I had wanted to make Rava Idli for months but could not find the idli steamer. I thought it was misplaced during our move a couple years ago. Last week I found it safely tucked away behind the cutting boards. So now I can make idli.

Rava Idli is a quick recipe made and you need is semolina and a carrot. Unlike other idlis this idli does not require the batter to be fermented. Yogurt is added instead.

You will need
7 cashews
1 tsp. mustard seeds
3 tbsp. channa dal
1 tsp. urad dal
1 tsp. turmeric seeds
1/4 tsp. asafeotida
1 carrot, grated
1 cup semolina
a bunch cilantro, chopped
1 cup yogurt
salt to taste
olive oil

Soak the channa dal in warm water for 15 minutes before use. Heat olive oil in a pan and add the cashews. When they turn brown and crispy take them out of the oil and keep aside. In the same pan add another tsp. olive oil and mustard seeds. When they crackle add urad dal and channa dal. Saute for a minute. Add asafeotida and turmeric powder. Now add the grated carrot. Saute the carrot until cooked through and add the semolina. Saute for 10 minutes until the semolina is heated through. Transfer the contents of the pan to a mixing bowl. Add the cilantro and mix.

Now add the yogurt and salt to taste. Add water a little at a time until you have the consistency of a thick batter.

Keep aside and let it rest for 30 minutes. Add water to the idli steamer and put it on the stove to heat up. You could use a pressure cooked if you want. Dip you fingers in olive oil and rub the idli mold with it. Now fill the mold with the batter leaving room for it to rise.

Steam the idlis in the steamer for about 10 minutes on medium-high heat or until a knife inserted in a idli comes out clean. Serve hot with tomato chutney.

Tomato Chutney

Today I was in need of a quick chutney and I had juicy tomatoes on hand. Everyone in the family loves tomatoes coked or raw so I decided to make this South Indian version of tomato chutney. To add flavor to the chutney the curry leaves are blended with the cooked tomato. This chutney is finger licking good.

You will need
2 tomatoes coarsely chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 serrano pepper, deseeded and minced
1 tsp. turmeric powder
7-8 curry leaves, divided
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 dried red chili pepper
1/4 tsp. asafoetida
olive oil
salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add 5 of the curry leaves, turmeric powder, a third of the red chili pepper and the onions. Saute for 5 minutes on medium heat. Next add the tomatoes and let them cook for 5 minutes.

Once the tomatoes are cooked add salt to taste and blend smooth in a blender. Transfer the chutney to a serving bowl. In a small clean pan heat olive oil and add mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle turn off the heat and add asafoetida, remaining curry leaves and red chili peppers. 

 

Pour over the top of the chutney and serve.

Polish Apricot Stuffed Pampuchy (Dumpling) with custard

For the second week of the 2014 52 week challenge the theme was Polish. As most of the savory preparations use meat I decided to stick to desserts. I made apricot jam filled Pampuchy and served it with Vanilla English custard.

I used one packet of dry rapid rise yeast. Not sure if it was more than needed for the amount of flour I had but it worked very well with the recipe. Leaving the dough to rise at every step took a long time but the steps are fairly simple. And the end result is divine.

I had read someplace that the trick to a good dumpling is the dough. Spend the time and the elbow grease to knead the dough well.

You will need
For the dough
1 and 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup warm milk
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 packet Fleischmann's Rapid rise active yeast
2 egg yolks

For the filling
apricot jam

To pour over the top
Vanilla custard (I used Brown and Polson custard powder to make the custard)

In a mixing bowl mix all the ingredients. If the dough is too dry add up to 1/3 cup of water. Form a ball and leave aside for 15 minutes.

The dough will be softer and not as sticky after 15 minutes. Knead the ball of dough well for at least 5 minutes. It should be smooth and very soft to the touch. If you work on this step you will end up with smooth textured dumplings. Cover with plastic wrap and keep aside for about 25 minutes or until it doubles in size.

Punch down the dough and divide into 16 equals parts. Now you have to stuff each dumpling with the apricot jam. I did what I usually do to make stuffed parathas. Take one of the 16 balls of dough and flatten it on your palm.

Add a dollop of apricot jam in the center. (I took a picture of this step too but my arm shook while clicking it so it is unusable.)
Bring the edges together and form a ball. Roll it in your palm to smooth out the lines. You do not have to smooth them all out. Once it rests and steams it will have a smooth surface.

Keep aside. Repeat the process for the remaining 15 balls of dough. Let them rest for at least 20 minutes before the next step. By the time you work your way through the 16; the dumpling you finished first should be ready for steaming.

My rice cooker has a steamer attachment. Get the steamer ready. Steam the dumplings in batches for 9 minutes.

Remove from heat. They grow a lot in the steamer too.

I used Brown and Polson custard powder to make pouring vanilla flavored custard. I made it in this measuring jar in the microwave. Where ever the recipe called for stove top I estimated an equivalent time for the microwave.

Serve hot with custard poured over the top.

No blogging today or tomorrow

I lost my cat to cancer today. In her honor there will be no food entry today or tomorrow.