sweetTooth's Profile
AUGUST 2011 COTM: WORLD VEGETARIAN BY MADHUR JAFFREY
Sorry for the late response TDQ. Yes, I just store the whole spices in jars in the cupboard.
AUGUST 2011 COTM: WORLD VEGETARIAN BY MADHUR JAFFREY
I just wanted to mention for the benefit of others who tend to cook Indian food infrequently: if you think you won't use too much of a spice, buy the whole spice instead of ground and grind as needed. Whole spices keep for ever. I have cloves, cardamom and cinnamon, among others that are years old and they are still good. Second, I'd suggest buying from an Indian grocery store, if you can find a decent one in your neighborhood. I have found that their prices are often way better than the spice aisle of a supermarket or a specialty store.
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
Ghee is not a staple in Indian cuisine in the sense that all dishes use it. In fact, other than sweets, fasting foods, and some others where its richness is desired, vegetable oil is the default. Comestible, don't get me wrong - this isn't the first I've heard a non-Indian ask this. I am not sure how this misconception about ghee being required for every Indian dish has taken root. I wonder if the Hare Krishna folks are responsible or whether it is the popularity of Mughlai food in restaurants (home cooking is very different from Mughlai) or something else. To answer your question - I doubt that Ms. Jaffrey has swapped out ghee from most of the Indian recipes in this book for a healthier alternative.
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
Made this for dinner last night. Thanks for pointing it out, L.Nightshade! For a dyed in the wool Indian, I was pleasantly surprised with this dish. In my home growing up, carrots never starred in a vegetable side. They were usually used raw in salads (in koshimbir or kachumber) or cooked with milk and sugar for gajar halwa or a handful of diced thrown into a pulav. I did have frozen methi and used that here. I suspect fresh methi would taste even better. Really liked how the sweet carrots worked with the bitterness from methi and the fragrant spices. Served with Lehson Aur Pyaz ke Tarkay Vali Sookhi Mung Dal (p 78, that I made a soupy version of, not sookhi as in the recipe), a cabbage koshimbir and warm rotis. Tasty and comforting meal.
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
Got the book. It must have been the recipe for Black Eyed Peas with Swiss Chard (p 20) that I tried last time and liked very much. As for the eggs with harissa in a wrap - that must have been some other book. I can't find it in here. Oops! Sorry!
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
One of my aunts came visiting recently from India. She said she adds sprouted methi seeds to vegetable sides. Apparently very good for you and sprouts are nowhere as bitter as the seeds. Planning to try this soon.
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
Heh heh... for the lactating mom, presumably too much milk. Also, from what I understand, many of the ingredients are considered "heat producing" and hence from an ayurvedic stand point too much could cause imbalances in one's body. There were no lactating moms in my home growing up, yet methi laddoo were a standard winter treat (well, for those that liked it. I could never get over the bitterness. Managed to choke some down when my first born was a wee baby.)
Cooking From The Farmer's Markets . . . what's on your table these days?
Thanks so much! It was a good reminder to *search* Heidi's blog for recipes. I forget sometimes how many she has posted over the years and tend to remember only about 5 most recent.
Cooking From The Farmer's Markets . . . what's on your table these days?
Aww, thanks Breadcrumbs! When I have such fabulous inspiration and tips from these boards and great local produce from the markets, there's no excuse for blah food.
Cooking From The Farmer's Markets . . . what's on your table these days?
Hah! Why didn't I think of that? Thanks for the tip, dkennedy!
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
Interesting that you like ground fenugreek. I am sure that is why you have it in your spice cabinet! Duh! :-) Then you might like methi laddoo. A confection that is made for new mothers to ensure steady milk supply. Ground fenugreek is soaked in ghee for a day and then whipped (not sure what whipping does). Then ground dates, nuts and jaggery/sugar are added and the mixture formed into balls. Keeps for months and you're supposed to eat no more than one a day.
Yes, you should be able to grow your own fenugreek leaves. My mother used to do this when she lived in the US 40 years ago and a trip to the Indian grocery store was an excursion. You can find seeds in an Indian grocery store. You may be able to find bunches of fresh leaves in Chinese or Indian grocery stores. My Indian grocer carries it fresh from time to time, and always has it in the frozen section and in the dried spices section (as kasuri methi).
As for kohlrabi - yes I've found it to be hit or miss too. When I can select each one, I make sure to pick the smallest bulbs with the freshest looking foliage. But if it is a bunch, I may end up with some that is tough/woody and not sweet and juicy at all. For this reason, I don't buy it very often. Your CSA should be able to provide you with better quality though!
Re: World Vegetarian - I vaguely remember a lobia/lobhia recipe (black eyed peas) that was simple and good and a (north?) African recipe for wraps with harissa, and eggs and possibly some potatoes and onions. Sorry, that's all I remember. I will pick up this book from the library in a few days and let you know more specifically.
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
It was probably bitter due to ground fenugreek which is quite potent. Fenugreek leaves are generally not as bitter, especially when young and tender and that is precisely the stage at which they are used in Indian cooking. I need to borrow this book again. There were quite a few hits when I cooked from it last time!
Cooking From The Farmer's Markets . . . what's on your table these days?
Would you mind sharing a recipe for your zucchini potato gratin, please?
Cooking From The Farmer's Markets . . . what's on your table these days?
Having fun with summer bounty here in SoCal. Recipes from cookbooks, internet, cooking shows, or just using what needs to be used up. On our table this past few weeks -
Corn - puddings and spoonbreads, griddle cakes (thanks for the Jack Bishop book rec, Breadcrumbs! These were a hit with guests), succotash
zuchhini - pancakes, pasta, rice gratin
heirloom spinach - quesadillas
green/yellow wax beans - sabji with roti, salad with corn and basil, salade nicoise without tuna
poblano/pasilla/ancho chiles - pureed for enchilada suizas sauce, in corn pudding, rajas tacos coming up soon
bell peppers - paneer jalfrezi with roti, roasted in sandwiches with pesto, in pastas
eggplant - sadly not much of this from organic/sustainable stands this season. A pretty good Eggplant Deva knock off (a la Bombay Cafe) last night. A fairly meh gratin with tomatoes on a bed of onion jam. Bunch more oil would've fixed it imo.
Summer fruit - Arugula salads with these and pistachios and goat cheese. Peach Kuchen.
Other - soup a pistou. Cucumber-mint-lime agua fresca from simplyrecipes.com
Does grating an onion change it's flavor?
Well, I've also run into this bitter onion problem and the bitterness does not cook away. I've encountered it making onion gravies for Indian curries, so the onion gets sauteed a good long time on low heat, with lots of oil (it is not burnt onion). It happens to me when I run raw onion through a blender, but not when I saute chopped onion first and then blend. Also, it does not happen all the time. Perhaps I need to pay attention to the type of onion, when this happens next and when it doesn't. I do sometimes use grated onion and this hasn't happened to me with grated - but perhaps because I grate rarely. Don't like dealing with the slipperiness and a sharp grater.
I need recipes for flavoring home-made yogurt.
How about classic Indian dessert flavors such as cardamom, saffron or nutmeg - separately or all together in one batch? I would steep these in milk before culturing it into yogurt, rather that trying to add to yogurt after it has set. Also, how about herb syrups - this I have not done. But should work.
What are you baking these days? July 2011 [old]
Heh, heh.. yeah, I was certainly being nit picky about the crust. Once it was baked, the crust was hardly in focus - the gorgeous looking peaches stole the show. Rainey, did the recipe you used call for fresh peaches or canned? Mine called for canned but I used fresh. They tasted great when I was slicing them, but I was underwhelmed by their performance in the tart. There was hardly any competing sweetness from custard or crust, so dunno why peaches almost tasted too tart. I switched out the cinnamon in the recipe for cardamom (Mr. Sweettooth hates cinnamon) and loved it. I plan to try again if I come by sweeter peaches in the next few weeks.
In other news, baked a Chard tart from Joy Of Cooking and Ina Garten's Brownie pudding for dinner tonight. The latter was yummy if a tad too rich and sweet. Will cut sugar by 1/2 cup and butter by 1/2 stick next time. The tart was ho hum.. I had high hopes. I must've kneaded the crust dough too much - it was tough. Didn't think I was in danger of overworking it, given the amount of oil in it. I was wrong. But the filling didn't wow either. Needs more herbs I think. I'm pretty sure I saw something like this on Lidia's Italy. Need to look up recipe and compare differences. Yeah dinner was a calorie bomb tonight. Too bad it didn't taste worth it. :-(
Stuffed parathas
Experience? I say this humbly and playfully.. as I'd love to find the secret too. I'll point out what I've learnt along the way. Some things to avoid:
1. Lumpy filling - say for aloo paratha
2. Very dry filling - more a problem for kachoris than parathas, but may prevent a good seal at the crimped seam. Also a crumbly filling may lead to air getting trapped inside and this will lead to punctured parathas when rolling them out.
3. Too stiff dough - if dough isn't pliable enough, it'll tear. Allow it rest after kneading, before stuffing and rolling. You may want to try adding some all purpose flour to the atta, to help with this.
What are you baking these days? July 2011 [old]
I made peach kuchen on Friday night too! This was only the second time I executed a pressed-in tart crust in a fluted loose-bottom pan and though there were no leaks, I would like to learn to make a uniform crust. Base was even, but sides could've been better. Is there a trick to doing this right? It would help to know how much of the mixture to save for the sides. I guess I could've scraped some up from the base when sides looked anemic.
Cabin Cooking
How about couscous or quinoa salads? Couscous with some ground cumin, citrus zest, steamed broccoli or other veg, drained can of chickpeas, roasted nut or seed of choice and a simple oil-lemon juice dressing. Chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro or mint if you have some will gild the lily. It comes together quickly.
Another idea for pantry pasta: saute sliced onion, garlic, chile flakes, chopped olives (or olive tapenade), sundried tomatoes, drained can of chickpeas or other bean. Toss in cooked short pasta reserving some pasta water to moisten as needed. Careful with the salt in this one! Top with grated parmesan, flat leaf parsley or basil, and chopped toasted walnuts or crisped breadcrumbs.
The leftover dilemma
So true - the throwing out bad vs good food. That said, I freeze leftover frosting. Even if only to finally move it to the fridge after a year and use on toast every morning until gone. :-)
Toddler birthday party - healthy menu ideas
Ditto on pita or crudites and hummus. Also ditto on 2 year olds being good eaters. Three is when they start expecting pizza juice and cake/cupcake at every party (shudder). I did a potato onion frittata and even a Chard onion frittata at the two year party and homemade chocolate cake. Hummus and pita chips, fresh strawberries and tangerines. All was a hit with both kids and adults. 3 year party: grilled vegetable and caprese sandwiches on focaccia from local Italian chain, their chopped salad, vanilla yogurt + berries, veggie quiche, chips and hummus and bakery cake with guava filling. Kids only had yogurt and berries, sandwiches were ignored, some had chips and hummus and they were downright disappointed with the weird cake and couldn't believe there was no juice!
I would suggest not to try and have too many drink options if you're making them yourself. Lemonade and water should be plenty. Happy birthday to your two year old!
no onion or garlic-need a different savory flavor base!
Beans: do you mean dried or green beans? If the latter, you could try an Indian seasoning with fresh green chile and ginger, maybe some fresh grated coconut too. For dried such as garbanzos: a tadka of mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, fresh or dried hot chile and fresh grated coconut.
French Press Coffee [moved from General Topics]
Klunco, am curious about your stir after 1 minute step. Why not stir right away? Thanks!
cookbook rec needed for simple, seasonal, sustainable meals
Ooh! Glad you mentioned Jack Bishop's book. I wasn't aware of his cookbooks at all. I see he has another Vegetable book. Eagerly looking forward to thumbing through both these. Thanks for the heads up, Breadcrumbs.
What are you baking these days? June 2011, part 2 [old]
I don't know what I am doing lurking here, seeing as I have a 3 year old and a 3 month old and zero time to bake.. but I just keep coming back to this thread to torture myself with the gorgeous goodies yawl keep turning out. Sigh, maybe in a few more months I'll actually bake something decent. For now I'm wallowing in my Anadama bread rut - 5 or 6 batches in the past 2 months. Oh and one batch of Parker House Rolls. Turns out they are perfect for Pav Bhaji.
My life sucks right now - rather than drink, I COOK!!
Thanks so much for your wishes, Quine. Just getting back into circulation now.. :-)
cookbook rec needed for simple, seasonal, sustainable meals
Aww. You're very welcome.
