Vegetarian

Homemade Muesli with Apricots and Raisins

Posted by

2

Yesterday was the day I finally got around to making this homemade muesli/cereal from Bill Grangers book Bills Sydney Food. Most people know I’m pretty much in love with the bills chain of restaurants and the food that comes out of his kitchen. See here and here and here to see more about bills recipes. The decision to try out this muesli recipe came after I finally gave up my obsession with Just Right Cereal. What’s Just Right you’re asking? Only what was the best Australian cereal produced by Kellogg’s until the end of 2013. That’s when everything changed. Read on to learn more!

Continue reading →

Whole Wheat Pasta From Scratch

Posted by

1

I was given a KitchenAid pasta press a few years ago as a gift and really enjoyed using it to make fresh pasta from scratch. I have to admit, the press doesn’t get used all that often because while it’s definitely fun to use, cleanup is it a bit of a pain. Yes, the results are great and the pasta deliciously fresh but it’s just not an every day kind of activity. Last weekend I had a bit of time up my sleeve and a craving for some whole wheat pasta so I thought “Why not?” Of course, just making pasta was the first step. I knew I’d have to compliment it with a delicious sauce and there were some strong opinions about the sauce needing to be tomato based. So I scoured the web looking for a recipe with my Ina Garten filter applied and lo and behold I came across this vodka-cream-sauce-like recipe published by Ina Garten titled “Nick and Toni’s Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola”. The recipe calls for Penne but I figured the Rigatoni that my extruder can make would be close enough. 

DSC_0939

Continue reading →

Cilantro and Mint Chutney

Posted by

0

Whenever we get Indian food delivered my most favorite thing to do is drizzle the cilantro and mint chutney all over the dishes I’m eating, especially those yummy samosas. But I could eat that chutney with just about all my Indian dishes. It just adds a delicious zing to everything. I’ve often wondered what goes into making that chutney. I actually didn’t realize the key ingredients were cilantro and mint until I started googling “green indian chutney”.

It just so happens that I planted some cilantro a few months ago on my window planter and was left with a huge bunch that I wasn’t quite sure what to do with. Then I remembered this chutney and the rest is history.

I searched my favorite Indian food blog, eateastindian and quickly found a great video with simple instructions on how to make this chutney.

So here’s what you need:

DSC_0823

  • 1/4 cup mint leaves
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp ginger
  • 1/2 green chili (I used more like 3/4)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tsp mango powder (amchoor)
  • 2 tbsp plain yogurt

And the steps are as simple as putting all the above ingredients into a food processor and blending until smooth.

IMG_0006

So simple! Here’s a video of me using my favorite kitchen gadget to blend it all together.

The verdict on this chutney? Delicious! It tastes even better than what comes from the local Indian restaurant. More zing and more spice. Yum. My only complaint is that it’s just not quite green enough. Maybe more cilantro or mint next time?

I’d definitely recommend making this accompaniment for your next Indian feast. It’ll make that meal even more special.

Dal Maharani and the Tale of the Whistling Pressure Cooker

Posted by

0

Home made Dal Maharani or Dal Makhani has been a staple at our place for about a year now. While it’s certainly not the prettiest dish out there it really is delicious. We used to order it regularly from an Indian restaurant in the West Village but once we moved to Brooklyn we found it really tough to find one that was just as good. So I decided to do some research on exactly what went into making this dish. I have to admit once I found some recipes online I was a little put off. There seemed to be so much preparation necessary and so many concepts that seemed so foreign. For example, do you know what goes into making ginger garlic paste? Have you ever used a pressure cooker? Where can you find ghee? Should you use cream or substitute with yogurt for a healthier alternative? What the heck is onion puree? With a little encouragement, some Amazon purchases, a trip to an Indian specialty food store, a few youtube instructional videos and some trial and error I’m proud to say that I can make some mean home made Dal Maharani that will put your local Indian restaurant to shame! I hope you find this information useful and decide to give vegetarian Indian cooking a try. I have to say a big thank you to Aditi at Eat East Indian. It was her video that gave me the confidence to take the plunge and try making this Dal recipe at home. You can find the link to the video here. Now let me tell you more about how to make Dal Maharani.

Continue reading →