Vegetarian Pad Thai

Pad Thai is the national dish of Thailand. It is believed to have started its life as pho in neighboring Vietnam. Once it was imported to Thailand it was modified to suit thai tastes. It is a popular street food and is available in restaurants all over the world. Phad Thai is stir fried rice noodles and vegetables in Pad Thai sauce.

This used to be my husband's go to dish in Thai restaurants. I always found it spicy. Whenever I make it I cut down on the spices. I also cut down on the peanuts as my daughter does not care for them.

Fish sauce and tamarind give the sauce its classic taste. Recently, I read that fermented bean curd is a good substitute for fish sauce. I don't use fish sauce so I tried to make the Pad Thai sauce using fermented bean curd in place of fish sauce. Before mixing it with the other ingredients I did a taste test with the family. My husband did not care for the taste and my daughter thought it was too sour because she does not care for tamarind. The soy sauce and lime juice based recipe got 5 stars on the taste test. I figured it was better to cook something everyone liked. So I went with the recipe given below.

You will need
8 oz. rice noodles
2 carrots
1/2 onion
2-3 pods garlic
8 oz. extra firm tofu
5-6 shitake mushrooms
small bunch chives
2 scallion

For the sauce
4 tbsp. soy sauce
4 tbsp. light brown sugar
2 limes (you could use 1 tbsp. tamarind paste)
1/4 cup water

For the garnish
10-15 roasted unsalted peanuts (you can crush then if you like)
10 chives, chopped
1 scallion, chopped

To make the sauce
Cook all the ingredients for about 10 minutes on medium heat stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and keep aside.

Chop the onion. Crush the garlic. Wash, peel and cut carrots into matchsticks. Slice the tofu and the mushrooms. Chop the chives and scallion. In a pan fry the tofu in 2 tbsp. olive oil until brown. Take it out of the pan and cut it into pieces.

Heat olive oil in a pan and saute the onion on high heat.

Next add the garlic and carrots and saute until the carrots are cooked but crunchy.

Prepare rice noodles as per package instructions. Mine had to be boiled in water for 8 minutes. Some rice noodle have to be soaked in cold water. Drain the water once the noodles are al dente (cooked but not mushy) and keep aside.

Add the mushrooms and tofu to the pan with onions and carrots.

Add the noodles and the sauce to the pan along with chopped chives and scallion. Mix well.

To serve put the Pad Thai in a bowl and garnish with peanuts, scallion and chives.

Serve hot.

This is my entry for week one, day three of BM #37 for the theme National Dish. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#37.

Vegetarian Pho

Pho is the national dish of Vietnam. Cooked noodles with blanched vegetables and protein are served with salty broth and topped with garnishes. Pho pronounced 'fuh' is a street food in Vietnam. It is also one of the best known dishes from Vietnam.

I was introduced to this dish by a friend back in Arizona. We worked a few blocks apart and caught up with each other over lunch once a month. Her favorite restaurant was a Vietnamese place and I had my first bowl of Pho there. Soon it was the dish to order whenever we visited that restaurant.

Authentic Pho is not a vegetarian dish. The broth is the hardest to make as it needs fish sauce. I had read somewhere that fermented bean curd provides a taste very similar to the fish sauce. I tried that today and it worked well. It is however, an acquired taste.

You will need
For the broth
1/2 onion
1 carrot
2 star anise
4 cloves
3" cinnamon
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
6 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp. fermented bean curd
2 tbsp. soya sauce

For the blanched vegetables and protein
10 oz extra firm tofu
1 small bok choy
1 carrot
5-6 Shitake mushrooms
2 tbsp. olive oil

For the garnish
1 scallion
1/2 lime
1/4 onion
10-15 cilantro leaves
Hoisin sauce

For the noodles
10 oz rice noodles

To make the broth
Broil the onion on high until charred. Chop the carrots. In a pan heat the cloves, star anise, cinnamon and coriander seeds. Add the charred onion and carrots.

Add 6 cups of heated vegetable stock. When it comes to a boil lower the heat and let it simmer. Add the fermented bean curd and soy sauce. Keep the sauce hot until everything else is ready.

To blanch the vegetables and for the protein
Bring water to a boil. Separate the leaves of the bok choy. Cut off the stems and chop into matchsticks. Wash, peel and chop the carrots to a size of matchsticks. Chop the shitake mushrooms.

Drop each of the above into boiling water and blanch for a couple of minutes. Remove from the liquid and drain. Keep aside.

Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch slices and fry in a pan with a tbsp of olive oil. Cut the slices into 1/2 in by 2 in pieces and keep aside.

To make the garnish
Chop the scallion into tiny pieces. Cut the lime in wedges. Finely chop the onions.

To put it all together
Cook noodles as per package instructions. Strain the broth and save the liquid. Bring all the ingredients to the table and prepare the bowl. Place the garnishes in a dish for easy access.

First place the noodles in the bowl. Then place the tofu and the blanched vegetables.

Next ladle the broth over the noodles until they are partially submerged.

Enjoy hot Pho!

This is my entry for week one, day two of BM #37 for the theme National Dish. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#37.

Jamaican Coco Bread and Veggie Patty

I wanted to cook Jamaican food. I did not know any Jamaican dishes and so I looked for something online. Coco bread with a patty appeared to be very popular.

I referred to a lot of recipes but they all used all purpose flour. I wanted to use mostly whole wheat flour so I changed the ingredients and proportions to work with whole wheat.

As for the patty filling I could not find anything vegetarian. I wanted to keep the essence of Jamaican food so I researched the spices and vegetables they use and came up with my own recipe based on what I had on hand. Deep fried patties are common in Indian cooking and in the past I had figured out baked versions of those traditional recipes like this pea dumpling. I used the same principle to create the patty. However, for the patty shell I used cold butter and cold water as used in pie shells to keep it close to authentic.

The end result was fantastic. The patty tasted really good with the bread.

You will need
For the Coco bread
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup King Arthur bread flour
1/2 tbsp sugar
a pinch of salt
1/8 oz Fleishmann instant yeast
3.5 fl oz. coconut milk
2 fl oz. water
3 tbsp. butter, divided

For the Patty shell
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. turmeric powder
salt to taste
1/2 tbsp. butter
1 cup cold water

For the Patty filling
2 tomatoes
1/2 head of cauliflower florets
1 carrot
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil

To make the Coco bread

Mix all the dry ingredients together. In a microwavable bowl warm the coconut milk and 1 tbsp. butter for 35 secs or until the butter melts and the liquid is heated through. Pour the liquid in the dough and mix well.

Heat the water in the microwavable bowl and using a as little water as you can form a ball of dough. Knead it well for about 10 minutes.

Cover with a plastic wrap and leave aside for about an hour or until dough doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Melt the remaining butter and keep aside. Punch down the dough and cut into lemon size pieces.

Take of the pieces in the palm of your hand form a uniform ball.

Place it on a working surface and roll it out to the desired size. I did not want to make the bread too big so I kept the disc to 5 inches in diameter. Brush the flattened dough with the melted butter.

Fold it over in half.

Arrange on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat for all the pieces of dough.

Bake in the oven middle rack for 15-20 minutes. Flip them over and put them back in the oven for 5-7 minutes. They should be browned on both sides.

Cool on a rack. The bread is ready.

For the Patty shell
Mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the dough with your fingers until the butter is reduced to the size of gravel. Using the cold water form sticky dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

For the Patty filling
Chop the tomatoes. Break the cauliflower in small florets. Peel and chop the carrot. Heat oil in pan and add the tomatoes. Let them cook and lose some of the liquid. Add the rest of the vegetables and spices. Season with salt. Let the vegetables cook completely. Mash gently using a potato masher such that no piece is larger than 1/2 an inch.

To put it together
Preheat oven to 425 F. Take the patty dough out of the refrigerator and divide into lemon sized balls.

Take one of the balls and and with the help of some flour roll it out on a working surface to about 4 inches in diameter.

Dip you finger in water and run it around the edges of the disc. Put a tablespoon of filling in the bottom half.

Fold over the disc to form a semi circle. Using a fork press down the edges to seal them.

Put the patty on a baking dish after applying a few drops of oil on the bottom and over the top. Repeat the process until all the dough is gone.

Place the patties in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes. Let them cool a little on a cooling rack.

To serve stuff the patty inside the coco bread and enjoy.

I chose Coco bread with a veggie patty for week six of the 52 Week Challenge.

Fondue

Cheese Fondue is the National dish of Switzerland. In the mountain valleys of Switzerland, where very little was available during the harsh winter months, freshly baked rustic bread like Weizenbrot coated with warm cheesy fondue made a hearty and filling meal.

I have fond memories of fondue. Outside my daughter's dance school every Friday night the Moms would set up a tailgate party. Fondue takes me back to the parking lot on the far side of the school. We talked and laughed around the food. When the girls got out they made a beeline for the leftovers. We always had plenty and it would be gone within minutes. That was when I invested in a fondue set. Nancy made the best fondue and I wanted to try it at home.

I have not used the set in a long time and we are having a really cold spell so fondue seemed ideal on a particularly cold night. Warm fresh out of the oven Weizenbrot covered with gooey cheese...dinner was good.

Fondue contains a good amount of wine. I substitute apple cider and it tastes great. Make sure you use good quality cheese as it is the cheese that will determine the taste of the fondue. If you don't have a fondue pot you can use any stove safe pot or pan.

You will need

7 oz Gruyere
7 oz Emmenthaler
3/4 cup apple cider divided
1 pod garlic
1/2 tsp. cornstarch

Dissolve cornstarch in a little cider and keep aside. Place the fondue pot on medium heat with cheese and the remaining cider. Cook until the cheese melts.

Add the cornstarch and cider mixture. Cook until the mixture is homogeneous.

Light the warmer on the fondue server. Transfer the pot of cheese to the fondue server. Serve with fresh made Weizenbrot cut into bite size pieces.

Enjoy on a cold winter night.

Gulpoli (Jaggery paratha)

Gulpoli is a special poli (flatbread) made on Makar Sankrant, the harvest festival. In coastal Maharashtra Jaggery based dishes are primary made in winter and gulpoli is one of the more popular dishes. As the jaggery filling begins to cool the gulpoli turns crispy. Gulpoli is one of my favorite sweet breads.

I made these before my daughter headed to college. I made just eight gulpoli as it was part of a full meal. The dough for this recipe is mixed with hot oil and is super soft. That makes it easy to roll with the filling. If the jaggery seeps out little it is okay. Caramelized jaggery tastes pretty good.

When I first posted this recipe I had made a Maharastrian thali. I did not have very good pictures when I first posted this recipe. On the 25th of January I have updated the pictures.

You will need (for 8)

For the dough

2 cups wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

7 tbsp. olive oil

For the filling

1 cup jaggery

1/4 cup besan

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. polished sesame seeds

2-3 pods cardamon

Heat the olive oil. Put the flours in a mixing bowl and work the hot oil in. Knead the dough using water. Keep aside for a couple of hours. Knead again and divide into lemon sized balls. 

Dry roast the sesame seeds until they turn pinkish. Let cool and using a blender dry grind to a coarse powder. Shell the cardamom and pound to a powder. Cook the besan well in the oil. Combine in a mixing bowl with all the other ingredients for the filling. Keep aside.

Flatten one ball of dough in the palm of your hands.

Place filling in the flattened dough. Bring the edges together and and close at the top. 

On a working surface roll out a thin poli taking care to see the filling stays inside. 

Cook on a flat griddle pan. Put a few drops of oil while the poli is cooking. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Fresh Blueberry sauce

Everybody loves Panna Cotta especially this vanilla flavored version served with fresh blueberry sauce. This is for week five of the 2014 52 week challenge for the theme Vanilla.

You will need
For the panna cotta
2 cups half and half
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 packet gelatin
3 tbsp. cold water

For the sauce
1 packet fresh blueberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

To make the panna cotta heat the whipping cream and half and half in a pan until just boiling. Turn off heat. Take cold water in a small bowl and add the gelatin to it. Let it stand for 5 minutes and then add it to the heated milk. Stir until the gelatin dissolves completely.

Pour into desired cups, ramekins or glasses and chill for a few hours or overnight.

To make the sauce heat the water and sugar in a saucepan. When the sugar melts and the water is boiling add half the blueberries. Let it simmer for a few minutes and turn off heat. Let it cool then run it through a blender. Chill for at least an hour. Drizzle over the panna cotta to serve.