Gobi Moomphali - Cauliflower with peanuts

There are few things that work better for a quick weeknight dish than a classic simple dry vegetable dish infused with the basic goodness of a few staple spices. The peanuts in the recipe are an inspiration to get my daughter to eat.

So here you have it, Gobi Moomphali

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/8 tsp asafetida

2-3 dried red chillies

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 cauliflower cut into floretts

1 tsp salt

1/2 cut peanuts roasted

Method of preparation

1. Heat the oil, and add the mustard and cumin seeds, when they crackle add in the asafetida, chillies turmeric and cauliflower.

2. Cook on medium heat turning frequently till the cauliflower begins to brown lightly.

3. Add the salt and peanuts and cover for 10 minutes and cook on low.

4. Check seasonings and serve.

Potatoes and Garlic - How can you go wrong?

Several years back, I tried potato pancakes and confessed to a jewish co-worker that I liked them and they had potential for improvement. Her candid statement to me was, potatoes and garlic, how can you go wrong? what not to like?

Several variations of latkes, I agree, what's not to like?

So here is a variation that I tried a couple of days back. The key to good latkes in my opinion is to use a good hand grater, the food processor squishes texture a bit much....

Potato Pumkin Latkes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 cup grated red pumkin

1 cup grated idaho potatoes

2 green chillies minced

3 cloves of garlic minced

2 shallots finely chopped

3 tsp flour

2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method of preparation

1. Place the pumkin and potatoes in a colander to drain, the excess water out for half an hour.

2. Squeeze the excess water out and mix with the chillies garlic, flour, cilantro and salt.

3. Heat the oil.

4. Drop by tablespoons and fry till crisp

5. Serve with sour cream on the side.

This goes out to Anna at Morsels and Musings, a good recipe thinking of the feel good spirit of Hannukah. Not necessary jewish, but, the good thing about having kids in the house is that one can celebate anything without boundaries, and good food tastes wonderful irrespective of the origin.

A classic with leftovers

Yes, like a lot of others who have leftover turkey, I have been trying to find creative ways to use it up. Today, I had some more company, who wanted to try my leftovers. I did need to add some creative touches to make sure that the food was presentable.

My turkey this year turned out to be very good. I had brined it and cooked it with stuffed apples. So I was trying to figure out how to use the leftovers without too much fuss. Well, one stopgap in Indian food is the makhani or tikka masala base. Its comforting creamy flavors make it a surefire success with anything you can think of, so why not left over turkey. Here is how I made the sauce,

Makhani Sauce for Leftover Turkey

Serves 10

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajowan)
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp finely grated ginger
2 green chillies, minced
3 pods garlic, minced
1 cup crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup sour cream
salt to taste
1 tbsp tandoori masala
1 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
1/2 cup light cream
1 tsp garam masala

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the cumin and ajowan.
2. Add the onion, ginger, chillies and garlic and saute briefly.
3. Add in the crushed tomatoes and cook till the oil begins to separate.
4. Add it the sour cream, salt and tandoori masala and cook for five more minutes.
5. Add the methi and cool slightly.
6. Blend into a smooth sauce with the cream.
7. Add in the garam masala.

The unique taste in this particular version is created by the dried fenugreek leaves that are abundantly available in the Indian grocery stores. I love them while making parathas or other things where I substitute them for fresh leaves.

I am sending this in for WHB, an event I have not had time to enter in a long while. This weeks WHB is being hosted by truffle, a visit to whose blog reminded me that peaches are still in season several parts of the world..

Roaseted Pepper and Seared Shrimp Salad

A rather fussy and elaborate salad, good for a light meal, involves several steps, but overall works out pretty well. The key ingredient here is the roasted green peppers. It is amazing how much the flavor of pepper improves with the roasting.

Roasted Bell Pepper and Seared Shrimp Salad

Serves 3

Ingredients

For the Dressing

1 cup cider
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 stick cinnamon
1 dried red chilli

For the salad

2 green bell peppers
2 cups of baby spinach leaves
2 oz crumbled goat cheese
2 tbsp pine nuts

For the shrimp

1/2 lb shrimp
juice of one lime
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp olive oil.

Method of Preparation

1. Mix the cider and vinegar with the chilli and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and cook till 1/3 in volume and cool
2. Place the green peppers under the broiler and cook on low broil for 5 minutes on each side.
3. Cool, peel and cut into thin slices.
4. Mix with the spinach and goat cheese.
5. Marinate the shrimp with the lime juice, salt and pepper for 15 minutes.
6. Heat a grill pan, add the oil.
7. Cook the for a few minutes on each side.
8. Place on the salad, top with pine nuts and serve.






F

Aloo-Rasledar

Sometimes when the normal balance of one's life gets shaken, it takes a little bit of time to get things back into sync.

This is how I have been feeling the past few weeks, the intensity of things at work have thrown the normal balance of things in my life off kilter.

Yes, I have been cooking just not had much time to blog, have not been able to take my usual evening walks which has also been making things a little out of sync for me.

I am trying to get back into things with this weekend. To do that once in a which we start with the basics, I almost feel potatoes fall into that very basic and practical category.



Here is what I did to dress up this humble tuber.



Aloo -Rasledar



Serves 6



Ingredients



1 lb new baby pototoes

1 tbsp tandoori masala

1 tsp freshly crushed pepper

1/2 cup yogurt

1.5 tsp salt

1/3 cup oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp curry powder

4 tomatoes chopped

1 tsp grated ginger

3 green chillies finely chopped

1/2 cup cottage cheese

3-4 tbsp chopped cilantro



Method of Preparation

1. Parboil the potatoes, cool and peel.

2. Marinate the potatoes with 2 tbsp yogurt, tandoori masala and pepper and 1 tsp salt.

3. After half an hour, heat 1/2 the oil in a hard anodized pan and on low heat cook the potatoes on low heat stirring constantly till well browned.

4. Heat the remaining oil and add the cumin seeds, ginger and tomatoes. Add in the curry powder.

5. Cook for 10 minutes till the tomatoes are browned. Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer.

6. When thickened, add the green chillies and pototoes with the cottage cheese.

7. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Serve garnished with the cilantro.

Ginger-Turmeric Sallops on a Mango-Corn Salsa

Saffron-Turmeric Scallops on a Mango-Corn Salsa.

Ingredients

For the Salsa

4 small ears fresh corn on the cob
1 mango
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp black salt
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 lime

For the scallops

1 lb large scallops
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds



Method of Preparation

1. Cut the corn kernels of the cob into a bowl.
2. Peel and grate the mango onto the bowl.
3. Mix with the remaining ingredients and set aside to let the flavors blend.
4. Mix the scallops with the turmeric, ginger and sugar.
5. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds.
6. Sear the scallops till lightly browned on both sides (this takes about 5 minutes on each side).
7. To serve, place two tsp of the salsa on the plate, top with a few scallops and serve with any side of your choice.b

Not my mother's mac and cheese

Mac and cheese is a staple in the house. The little ones love it, I usually tend to make different variations of this dish, but from the scratch. No, I do not have a favorite that my mother used to make since my mother really did not make mac and cheese.

This Friday at lunch with a couple of colleagues, someone mentioned to me about how their mother used cottage cheese for Mac and Cheese. Now, what a novel idea, cottage cheese is low in fact and can actually contribute to a nice smooth texture.

So this is what I did,

Mac and Cheese with Shallots, Ham and Asparagus

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cups cooked elbows
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 shallots thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic grated
2 tbsp flour
1 quart half and half
1 cup coarsely cubed ham
1/2 cup finely chopped asparagus
2 tbsp chopped chives
1.5 cups cottage cheese with pineapple
3 tbsp butter
salt to taste
1/2 cup grated swiss cheese

Method of Preparation

Heat the oil and brown the shallots and garlic.
Add in the flour and mix into the oil.
Add in the half and half and simmer till thickened.
Add in the ham, asparagus and chives and cottage cheese.
Remove from heat.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a casserole and add in the elbows and butter and salt.
Pour the cheese mixture and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the swiss cheese and serve warm.