A fall kind of dish

Most people who know me, know my love for fall, I love the colors, the nip in the air, the apples, the pears and the soft rustle of fall leaves under my feet. It is the only time of the year, I am not quite so excited about the rain, not that I do not like to see the vivid colors against the sombre skies on a rainy day, or like to simmer my favorite stew on a cool dark day, the rain takes the crunch of the leaves away.

The kids have been building piles of dry leaves and have been romping around in them, as you can see from the picture. On one of these days, I tried an apple dessert and found a keeper, it is simple and about as easy as a baked dish can be.

The first time round, I made it on Halloween evening and had overcrisped it a little, my cousin actually wanted the recipe, I have made it twice since and this time good the proportions down better. The pictures are from that overcrisp session, so please do not be discouraged by them.

A gallette is a good starter pie, it is essentially free form and the extra crust is folded over, I assembled it and used a pie place for a little support, but feel free to go completely un-guided with this one. I added very little honey to the apples, so other than the butter, this recipe is fairly wholesome too.

Apple Gallette

Prep Time: 5 hours (mostly to chill the crust)
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves 4-6 Poeple

Ingredients

For the Crust

1/3 cup almonds
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used regular atta, but you could use whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tablespoon sugar
14 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup cold water

For the pie

3 medium sized apples (2 granny smiths, 1 gala)
2 tablespoons honey
1/3 teaspoon powdered cardamoms

Method of Preparation

1. Place the almonds and the flour in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Add in the butter and continue processing for 2-3 minutes
3. Gradually add in the cold water and process  for 1-2 minutes.
4. Remove the mixture from the food processor and knead for a few minutes until smooth.
5. Place the dough in the refridgerator for 3 hours.
6. Remove from the refridgerator and leave for about 20 minutes.
7. Cut the apples into quarters and core the apples before cutting them into thin slices.
8. Roll out the pie pastry to larger than an 9-inch pie pan (leaving about 2 inches of room),
9. Place into a greased pie pan and nicely layer all the apples around it, sprinkle with the cardamoms and drizzle with the honey.
10. Fold over the crust.
11. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is well browned and the apples smell cooked.

Cool slightly and serve warm with your favortie cup of tea.

Westchester Grocery

This little outlet was something that I had discovered by eating some amazing Chicken Seekh Kababs at someone's house almost three to four years back. I  was amazed at the great taste and then ventured onto Commerce Street in Thornwood to find Westchester Grocery. Now, these pictures have been taken with a very low resolution phone camera, yes, this was what I used earlier in the year, actually comming to think of it I am kind of low tech that way, I carry around a small no so fancy little camera for my travel and meandering kind of pictures, very rarely use the phone for taking pictures.

This being said, it does occasionally come in handy. So, I say this to tell you that the place is probably a little brighter than the pictures here but it is a no frills place that is a grocery store and food place

all in one. The food is inexpensive (relatively) and consists of an assortment of prepared curries both vegetables and meat dishes and several snack items such as the kebabs that I mentioned, breads and rice dishes that are available a la carte. They also cater or take larger orders on request. They have a seating area, which would actually make it a good lunch spot if you are in the area.

 The grocery section is a smal but highly servicabe Indian/Pakistani grocery, by this I mean that all the essentials are available here, spices, lentils, rice and a selection of frozen food. They do not extend to novelty items like snacks and cookware. They do have a good selection of frozen foods several of which are Halal.

All in all, for those of you who keep asking me for a good eating place and a grocery store, this one combines both as long as you are willing to forgive the ambience. I personally love these small scale eating places and am sorry that we do not have more of them in the area.

Westchester Groceries

546 Commerce Street

Thornwood, NY 10594

914 747 0445

Sooji Dhokla

Cooking and try out new things is often a world of surprises, some very pleasant and most unexpected. Well, for many a reason, I do not usually blog about the unpleasant. I was home on Tuesday, fighting the cold/fever combo.

Later in the day 14 hours of sleep later, I wanted to make something that everyone could come home to.  It did not take me very long to come across this recipe, I pretty much followed Trupti's aunt's recipe and was stunned at the soft, quick and snowy results. I actually made these in an idly mold and cut them in hallf, this accounts for the strange shapes in the picture.

Now for the recipe,

Sooji Dhokla - Steamed Semolina Cakes

Prep Time: 2 hours (mostly to let the batter rest)

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 small piece (about 1/2 inch) peeled ginger

2 green chilies

2 tablespoons water

1 cup fine semolina

3/4 cup thin yogurt

1 tablespoon chickpea flour (besan)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 lime

1 teaspoon Eno fruit salt or 1/2 teaspoon Alka ASeltzer

For the tempering

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard

1 tablespoon sweetened desicated coconut

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1-2 broken dried red chili

1/8 teaspoon asafetida

1 lime

1-2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation

1. Place the ginger and green chilies and  water in a small chopped and grind to a paste.

2. Place the semolina, yogurt, chickpea flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and stir well.

3. Mix in the ginger paste and set aside for at least one hour in a warm place.

4. Pour water in a large steaming containe.

5. Grease a shallow round tray that fits into the steaming container.

6. Fill the steaming tray with water and bring to a simmer/

7. Add the alka setzer or eno into the batter and stir lighter.

8. Pour the batter in the greased tray and place in the steaming container and steam for about 12 minutes.

9. Keep the lid closed for about 10 minutes.

10. Unmold and place on a serving plate. Cut into halves

11. Heat the oil and add in the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop.

12. Quickly add in the sesame seeds and broken dried red chilies and cook for a few more seconds.

13. Add in the coconut and mix well and turn off the heat.

14. Squeeze in the lime juice and pour the lime juice mixture over the dhoklas and sprinkle with the cilantro before serving.

This recipe was met with a lot of approval from both children and dad, I think the wish is to feature it again for weekend brunch.

Simple Seasonal Perfect - Harvest on Hudson

There are days when you want go out and have a special meal, but want simplicity in the cuisine, well heeled but country styled settings,. particularly when the whether has this nip in the air. This is when you want to head off to a tested a tried place like the Harvest on Hudson.

I have eaten there a few times and this picture was from a meal about a year back. I was just was waiting for the right time to write about my wonderful experiences here.


 Late fall and winter, the garden action in my life is slower, allowing me the time to catch up on old posts.

Anyhow back to my dinning experience, this meal was a perfect simple pan fried cod, and you can see from the amazing golden coloring and flaky finish how nicely done this was. The other item that we had ordered was gnocchi tossed in brown butter and sage. I have been here at least a couple of times, when I was working in the area. What is also worthwhile is the beautiful view that is pretty all around, since it is on the edge of the Hudson and overlooks the Palisades. So if you are looking for a place that will not disappoint and is set and done up nicely with absolutely perfectly done foods that is interesting but not dauntingly complex, give this place a try.

Harvest On Hudson

1 River Street

Hastings on Hudson, NY 10706

914 478 2800

A messy tasty vacation dish

Remember I told you about the kids little two by two plots, well low and behold they did deliver the radishes as promised. Interestingly enough, a few years back my friend Ken was actually telling me about his daughter (then probably my older one's age say 7) wanting to grow their own and how radishes had a short turnaround. I was kind of half listening to all of that, well now I can relate. I shall tell you all the fun stuff we did with the radishes at some later time. Actually, we have been up to all kinds of fun stuff - apple picking, raspberry picking, I shall tell you about it by and by during those cold winter months when there shall not be any garden stories to share.

 Well, I wanted to actually get to telling you about this really simple recipe I had created when we were visiting my brother in Seattle. Despite some reservations I actually have posted this somewhat messy looking picture, since it capture the spirit of both the dish and the wonderful vacation that we had. It took us some time to figure out how to expand his drop leaf table, to fit all the food we were cookig. It is important to let you know that my brother does not really stock a spice cabinet or actually any pantry of sorts. The deal is that I send him a list before I visit and he is exceedingly dill.igent about getting anything I ask of him, so how can I complain?

To keep up my side of the deal, I carry a minimal amount of spices and we are happy. So now back to the shrimp, or should I say the accidental shrimp, since it came from a small container of tamarind chutney that had accompanied some Indian takeout and was sitting on a kitchen counter waiting to be converted to my tamarind shrimp.

Tamarind Chili Shrimp

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 18-20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1.5 pounds of extra large shrimp

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chat masala

1/3 cup tamarind chutney

2 tablespoons oil

2 teaspoons grated ginger

2 shallots thinly chopped

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

4 green chilies, cut into thin lengthwise slivers

2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation

1. Shell and clean the shrimp and pat dry.

2. Place in a bowl and mix with the salt and chat masala.

3. Mix with t. he tamarind chutney.

4. Heat the oil and add the grated ginger and the shallots and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

5. Add in the mustard seeds and wait for them for pop slightly.

6. Add in the shrimp  and tamarind chutney cook for about 2-3 min utes and mix well.

7. Add in the green chilies and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.

8. Garnish with cilantro and serve over steaming rice or couscous

Broiled Thai Red Curry Fish

I think something that I find very pai nful, is to go back to recipe notes and re-write it. In other words, if I can capture a recipe into words right away, it remains, if not it is usually  lost. The camera helps, I often go back to old picture and if and only if the recipe is worth it, I go back to the notes.

Well, this one certainly was in my opinion worthwhile, also I think it was about time to remember that I had the blog and actually get back to writing on it. Actually, I have been inundated with several things, and the classes have been keeping me busy.

Anyhow, this recipe first started out with a Thai red curry paste recipe, that I had adapted from this site. The paste stores well in the refridgerator for 2-3 weeks or more.

Thai Red Curry Paste

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients

1 medium red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon paprika
4 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon dried chopped lemon grass
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coariander seeds
2 tablespoons crushed palm sugar or jaggery
5 whole dried red chilies
1 lime

Method of Preparation

1. Place the onion, ginger, garlic, paprika, fish sauce, chopped lemon grass, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, palm sugar or jaggery in a blender.
2. Add in the whole dried red chilies. Cut in squeeze in the lime juice.
3. Blend the mixture until smooth, now, I should mention that the traditional texture for such a recipe should be a little grainy.

Broiled Thai Red Curry Fish

Prep Time: 45 minutes (mostly to marinate)
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

1.5 pounds of fish (I used steel head trout, in this recipe)
3-4 tablespoon red curry paste
1/3 cup coconut cream
3-4 kafir lime leaves
10-12 thai basil leaves
Extra lemon to garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Prepare the fish into 4 pieces, rub with the thai curry paste and set aside for 20 minutes.
2. Place in a baking dish, brush generously with the coconut cream, mince the kafir lime leaves and scatter over the fish.
3. Broil the fish lightly for 6-7 minutes on each side.
4. Carefully place on a serving plate, garnish with the thai basil leaves and serve with lemon slices.

Actually one of the highlights of this summer was growing Thai Basil leaves, what an amazing powerhouse of flavor in just 3-4 small leaves. We enjoyed the fish as is, but it would be wonderful over jasmine rice.

A homey lentil dish

I made this very basic lentils about a week back, actally right after I returned from India. I was rather tired, I had gone into work right after I came in however the lagged exhaustion hit later, I came back in around 3 pm and went straight to bed. I was woken up a couple of hours later by two excited people jumping on my bed. It was actually wonderful to see them. It was a nice break but a really conflicted one without the little ones.

All in all, I caught up with some old friends thanks to Facebook, and also bought a lot of reading material. I am looking forward to reading some of the books, the cool weather is just right for that. I made this immensely simple lentils and was really stunned by the flavor, I did not even temper it, all it had was the goodness of toor dal (yellow split pigeon peas), tomatoes, garlic, lime and cilantro. I finished it off by melting some butter into it. It was pure and simple wonderful.

Homey Yellow Split Pigeon Peas  - Toor Dal with Tomatoes and Garlic

Prep Time: 3-4 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes (in a pressure cooker)

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup toor dal - (Yellow Split Pigeon Peas)

2 cups water

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

2 pods garlic

2 tomatoes, chopped

2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 lime

Freshly ground black pepper

Additional chopped cilantro

1 tablepsoon butter

Method of Preparation

1. Place the toor dal, water, salt, garlic and tomatoes and cilantro in the pressure cooker and cook under pressure for 10 minutes.

2. Cool and remove the pressure and mix the lentils well.

3. Cut the lime and squeeze in the juice, add plenty of black pepper, stir in the cilantro and butter.

4. Enjoy by itself or with plenty of steamed white rice.