Zucchini Chickpea Pancakes with Sriracha

Are you ready for zucchini season? Think I’m jumping the gun a little too soon? If you have planted them in your garden in the past, you know the green rascals grow exponentially, so begin stockpiling your recipes for using up their deliciousness now!

One of my favorite recipes for zucchini are pancakes made with chickpea flour. My first foray into this dish was as an Indian side dish, so I have kept the Indian spices, but don’t let that deter you if spice is not your thing, although these spices are not hot per say, just flavorful. The basics are a few tablespoons of chickpea flour with salt, oil and a little water mixed with diced zucchini, which you allow to rest and then fry up in a cast iron pan. It’s magical!

Chickpea flour makes great pancakes on its own - google Socca and see how the French and Italians eat it with just salt. When you add chopped veggies that cook quickly, like zucchini, then it’s a full meal and a quick one at that.

Goan Style Paneer

Once you discover the joys of homemade paneer you will probably find yourself making it more often then you would imagine!

Unlike homemade pasta, (which is just as rewarding) it requires a lot less actual work on the part of the cook, just some time to hang around and wait for the milk to come to 180 degrees, then curdle it (with lemon juice or white vinegar), pour it into cheesecloth and then pat it into a pan to chill in the refrigerator. I usually make a double batch, but you will need to eat it within a week since it will go bad.

Goan style stews are really delicious, coconut, tangy and lightly spiced compared to other regions in Indian. This was a real hit with some Zucchini Besan Sabji (my favorite way to make veggie side dishes when I make Indian dishes).

Kerala Beefy Mushrooms

Mark Bittman is my food god. End of story. But when he posts a recipe that appears to be fairly afield from his usual cuisine talents - Asian, Mediterranean, American - my suspicious nature raises its ugly head. Never fear on this one, it was incredibly good! And so surprising

Who knew that cooking lots and lots of chopped onions, adding spices, tamarind and yogurt could produce such an amazing tasting dish!

Adding seared portabellos was my inspiration, and it worked well. To keep it veggie, add seared seitan or some other faux meat if you like, or the traditional beef if you like. But the mushrooms are what I will be sticking with in the future!

Homemade Spelt Naan

Ahhh naan, it's the reason you go to an Indian restaurant, especially if they have a tandoor oven in which they make this fresh, delicious flat bread. You would think that it could only be made well in such a specialized oven, but fear not dear reader, you too can make delicious naan at home!

It does really help if you have a cast iron flat pan or griddle, but supposedly you can make it on a pizza stone as well (this sounds totally reasonable to me, although I have never tried it.)

When wheat and I parted ways, spelt came to my rescue and this is my version of naan with white spelt flour. As usual, it requires a little less liquid in the dough, but still makes a wonderfully chewy naan that everyone really appreciated!

Bengali Fish Stew - Maacher Jhol

It turns out that the first Indian recipe that made it into my regular cooking rotation was from Bengal, specifically a dal that still holds a special place in my heart. I posted about it here when it was transformed into a soup, but it wasn't until this fish stew - Maacher Jhol - crossed my path that I realized that Panch Phoron was distinctively Bengali. It was what made the dal delicious and definitely is a defining part of this stew.

The interesting part about first learning to cook Indian cuisine is getting used to what feels like little finicky steps which turn out to be essential. For this dish, it is tossing the fish with some turmeric prior frying it. Seems like a throwaway step, why bother? But it is essential. Follow what mistresses of the kitchen have done for centuries, they know of what they do!

Also, while you can substitute cayenne pepper for kashmiri chile powder and use another oil (ghee, olive oil) for the traditional mustard oil, if you can procure either or both ingredients (usually at an Indian grocery store; I stock up when I'm near them), it is so worth it since it enhances the flavor dramatically. You won't regret it!

Incidentally, the photo above pictures a version made with fish that was gifted to us from my beau's daughter's friend who had caught some fresh ling cod and we were the happy beneficiaries! Thanks Rico!

Fig Chutney - DIY Pantry

Exploring Indian cuisine is so much fun because there are sooooo many condiments! Not only are there different types of condiments - chutneys, pickles, raitas - but such variety in each of those types of condiments!

When some free figs came into my kitchen (whoo hoo!!) I knew that they were going into a chutney tout suite. David Lebovitz's recipe looked great but it was boosted with a little more ginger and my favorite chile powder, Kashmiri, for its gorgeous taste and color. (Yes, hard to find except in Indian stores. Stock up on it, you'll love it too!)

My family had already fallen in love with Pear Chutney from this recipe which I made a few days later and canned them all at once to save water (we are in a severe drought!) And we are flying through both of them. So there will definitely be more fig chutney making in my future.

And as you can see from the picture, smearing fig (or pear) chutney on soft cheeses like chevre or brie is highly addictive as well. Double that recipe, you won't regret it!

Like so many delicious things, figs are in season for only a short while, so grab them while you can. Ignore the price and remind yourself they are like christmas or your birthday - a once a year event!

Garam Masala Salmon with Mango Peach Salsa

One of the greatest delightful surprises about where I now call home is the abundance of incredible, local, (and reasonably priced!) salmon. Our co-op fish counter carries sockeye, king, and steelhead (a cousin of salmon) and almost always for less than $20 a lb. You will often find me at said counter ogling without shame and taking home salmon at least once a week when it's in season (which seems to last longer when it's local, lucky us!)

Since variety is the spice of life, preparing it in different ways is always my goal. When I noticed that altufo mangos were ripe and cheap, they went into my basket along with some of the first peaches of the season to make the delicious salsa pictured above. Mango peach salsa is delicious on anything but it went especially well with the slightly spicy mix of garam masala. And a quick meal to prepare!

Altufo mangos are much smaller mangos than the ones usually available, but their flesh is softer, sweeter and less fibrous than their bigger cousins. At $1 each, they were a steal!

If you deseed and devein the serrano pepper, there is hardly any heat to this dish; garam masala generally lends only a hint of cayenne as well. If you are a heat seeker, go whole hog and add more serranos to your salsa!

Other Salmon recipes to try:

Creme Fraiche Salmon and Peas
Four Spice Salmon
Grilled Salmon with Sweet Chipotle Glaze
Sesame Salmon
Hoisin Marinated Salmon

Urad Dal Makhani

It's funny how cooking experiments go. The first time I made my beau dal with black lentils, AKA urad dal, it was a disaster. He could barely finish the plate, one of the few total flops in my cooking career with him. I was not going to let that happen a second time!

So I read carefully through many urad dal recipes (the uncooked dal was in the house, I wasn't going to waste it), and found Urad Dal Makhani, "Punjab truck stop food" as Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen noted, and it was a done deal. My beau lovvvvvved it. "Simple yet delicious and so satisfying." I asked him to say it again for the recording (just kidding!) But this is really one for regular rotation if you make dals. Even the teenager who doesn't like too much spice gobbled down leftovers!

I left out the traditional kidney beans because they don't agree with my digestion, but add them back in if you are a fan!

South Indian Sauteed Swiss Chard (Palakoora Vepadu)

Sauteed greens is such a bland phrase in comparison to reality of the dish pictured above. It's like calling  caviar fish eggs or truffles fungus. It almost insults it with such a minimalist term. This is food for the gods!

I happened to be browsing Saveur's website looking for a good naan recipe and happened upon the motherlode of authentic Indian cooking. The magazine had devoted an entire issue to exploring the country top to bottom and this greens dish is from Andhra, a state on the south east coast of the Indian Ocean. I will definitely be on the lookout for more dishes from that state to be sure!

Prior to finding this recipe my meal plan included a urad dal makhani dish (look for that next) from the Punjab, and unknown to me both dishes used similar spices so they made the perfect compliment.

While the list of ingredients is comparatively long it is sooooo worth it!! This will be going into our regular rotation, and what a great way to get some good greens in your meal!

Curried Latkes with Sour Cream and Pear Chutney

Potatoes are probably one of my most favorite ingredients in the world. Humble, versatile, comforting yet capable of transporting one to exotic lands since they are such great vehicles of flavor. The latke is the perfect example. Shred potatoes, squeeze out excess moisture and add eggs and flour and you have the age old peasant food that has sustained families for generations. Add some curry and chutney and you leave the Russian steppes and float away to a Bengali street vendor. All in the time it takes to make weekend brunch!

I will admit that not all of my latke experiments turn out as well as this one. Maybe it's the preponderance of Indian food that has been my favorite cuisine to explore but I seemed to have gotten this one right on the head.

Of course it would have been so much more exciting (and apropos to this blog) if the pear chutney was homemade, but alas it was a gift. But such a wonderful one that homemade pear chutney is high on my list of DIY items when pears are again in season!

Massaman Curry with Paneer and Broccoli

Despite three attempts (on different nights) to obtain a better photo than the one pictured above, I am using this horrid looking photo to talk about the most delicious Indian dish. Massaman Curry is my current favorite Indian dish and why wouldn't it be: complex spice combinations, coconut milk and creamy paneer. What's not to love?

Apparently massaman somehow, way back when, is a derivative of a curry that came from a unknown muslim man, somehow reflecting the Thai style red curry paste that is the key to this fragrant seductive dish. Although the origins of the name sound murky to me, irregardless, it's a fantastically delicious dish that is sure to win over all but the pickiest eaters!

Don't be scared by the long list of ingredients, it's mostly spices. Once you start working with spices you realize the genius of Indian cooking. It really is outrageously fun (and just a tad smug making!) to cook like this and impress your eaters!

Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer was probably the first Indian dish I ever ate, eons ago at some long-forgotten Indian restaurant, maybe in Washington, D.C. but the actually site and name were never captured by my brain. What was captured was the silky deliciousness of creamed spinach, Indian style. It seemed as if the spices were other-worldly, the combination so foreign and yet incredibly comforting. Where had this cuisine been all of my life? I was hooked! (Paneer was a whole other revelation on it own.)

Over the years since that first taste, palak paneer was usually my first choice when dining at Indian places and later the first Indian dish I tried to recreate on my own. I posted about it here but this updated version with some addition spices is so much flavorful it was worth a new post. Also, in the past I didn't even bother trying to find paneer in a grocery store and used tofu instead. Much to my chagrin I never tried to make it until recently. Those days are done for good since making it at home is so simple! Now I have to restrain myself from making it allllll the time!

Incidentally, Saag Paneer is just like palak paneer, only saag is "greens" and palak means spinach. But I call it palak no matter what I make it with since it's what is better known and my diners don't seem to notice the difference.

And yes, in case you were wondering, that is homemade naan in the top of the photo, which will be in a forthcoming post; it just felt like too much to add to this one, which already is a fairly long recipe. Something to look forward to!

Pan Fried Zucchini, Indian Style - Zucchini Besan Sabji

Besan, chickpea flour, is one of my favorite ingredients. It does what flour does without the gluten and more flavor! I love it as a pancake and it's what makes pakoras so delightfully crunchy. Here it's used to create a delicious coating for zucchini.

While some of you readers may be in the land of early frost (hello Minnesota!), others may be enjoying an extended harvest and we all know how zucchini becomes really tiresome by now! So toss it with some chickpea flour and spices and pan fry it up into so crunchy delicious that your diners will love!

Makhani Paneer with Homemade Paneer

Indian food is one of those cuisines that I adore but was convinced I would never be able to create at home. It intimidated me, left me flummoxed and confused in terms of conceiving of the finished product.

Happily, this is no longer the case. No, a fairy-Indian godmother did not come along and waved her magic wand and poof! make me an expert. But as with all the cuisines that I didn't grow up with, studying the cookbooks and now blogs of people who did has led me to some masterly over a few dishes. My beau is a huge fan of anything Indian and proclaims my dishes equal (or better!) to what we can get at our local Indian restaurant. Maybe it's love talking, maybe it's really that good...

What I do know is it's not as complicated as it looks once you start to understand the process. Pureeing the curry base - tomatoes or steamed greens - with your aromatics like ginger, garlic, chiles, and then cooking them in deeply spiced oil or ghee leads to delicious meals.

One of the non-Indian things I'd highly recommend is substituting mashed potatoes for your rice. I know, total heresy but outrageously good!  

Homemade Paneer - DIY Pantry

Homemade paneer - sounds hard, complicated, right? Wrong! So simple it's crazy and mind-blowing that it's taken me so long to make it at home! Thank god my beau loves Indian food and our local stores don't carry paneer. So I simply had to make it. Dead simple, really. And impressive and delicious... So go buy some whole milk and make it!

Pictured above is some paneer that was marinated in spiced yogurt and then broiled to golden perfection. It was then tossed in some Makhani sauce and gobbled up in ecstatic delight!

Cauliflower (Gobi) Masala

Cauliflower can be the forgotten vegetable. It's white, so no "Eat your greens" umph there. Most people think to pair it with cheese, so more white. And while color isn't everything, you eat with your eyes, not just your tastebuds.

But once you get bit by the cauliflower bug, it will get it's hooks in you! Often I simply roast it with salt and olive oil but sometimes it begs to be dressed up and showed off. Enter Indian spices and flavors!

Gobi is the word in Manchurian for cauliflower and and usually this dish includes potatoes as well, going by the name of Gobi Aloo. But I wanted just cauliflower on its own, and it was just as delicious!

This version leaves the cauliflower still toothsome, crisp and crunchy. If you want it softer, add about 1 teaspoon of water and cover it to steam lightly before adding the final squeeze of lemon and cilantro.

Tempeh Tikka Masala

A picture is worth a thousand words, but don't judge this recipe by the photo, which is less than ideal. This recipe is, however, close to perfect!

Tempeh is one of the plant proteins that I have finally managed to understand and come to love. Here it really is the perfect foil for this silky, tangy spicy curry from India. Take a break from tofu or seitan and give tempeh a try; trust me, you'll get hooked.

As with so many ethnic cuisines that I did not grow up eating, finding a recipe that fits my particular palate is always a challenge, but this one hit the sweet spot for me and my family. We all loved the complexity of spices. The steamed and then sauteed tempeh soaked up just enough of the flavors but held its form to make this a dish that will be in my regular dinner rotation!

We enjoyed this along with some Palak, Indian style Creamed Spinach and some Besam Chapati (chick pea flour pancakes). But it's also great over rice or with Naan. 

Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients, it's mostly spices. Do try and get all of the ingredients; the dried methi and asafoetida will probably be the hardest to come by so don't stress if you can't find them. But do take the time to find the others; you'll love the recipe so much that you'll be making it again soon and will appreciate having the spices at the ready.

Sweet Spicy Chai (vegan and dairy versions)

Chai - the word in Hindi for tea - is of course a lot more than just tea. It is the perfect blend of spicy, creamy, sweet liquid goodness; at least in my opinion. And each cook makes it differently.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of teaching some pretty special high school students how to make chai. And while they were very savvy about spices, cardamom had them stumped. It's one of my favorite spices in the world, and most chai recipes include it an essential element. 

This is my take on Chai, including variations for vegan Chai as well. Feel free to adjust it to your own tastes, but I highly recommend keeping in the fennel, peppercorns and cardamom for balance. Even one of the students who was very convinced that black peppercorns had no place in her sweet chai agreed that this blend was one of the best she had tasted.

While a mortar and pestal is not essential for making chai - you can grind the spices in a grinder - I prefer the traditional method that leaves them cracked and slightly whole. I also highly recommend buying a bamboo strainer if you think you might make a habit out of chai making.

The recipe below is for a single serving of 8 ounces of chai (small coffee cup), so double, triple, quadruple, etc. to tailor your needs. But please trust me on the vegan version; boiled non-dairy milks of any kind will NOT be tasty!

Rice Pudding with Cardamom and Coconut Milk

Exasperation, frustration, vexation, you name it, that has been how I've been feeling about my inability to blog about food lately... I know, how hard is it to make a dish, photograph it and write about it? For me for the past few weeks, undoable.

This particular post has automatically posted three times (the amount of times I keep putting it off). I did make Rice Pudding with Cardamom and Coconut Milk about 6 weeks ago. It was so good I ate it before daylight, before I could photograph it. But I just haven't been able to do it again since. Life happens!

So, here it is. The recipe I used, my inspiration, and a picture of screaming oranges (and Kumquats, to be truthful).  Because that's my truth!

Rice Pudding with Cardamom and Coconut Milk (inspired by Sassy Radish)

1/2 cup arborio rice
2 cups almond milk
2 cups full fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cloves
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients and bring to boil and simmer for 50 minutes until creamy. Serve immediately.

Hugs!

Lamb and Coriander Chutney Pasty in Hot Water Pastry

One of the best parts of spending my junior year of college in Paris was traveling to other places. I spent Christmas in Italy, Easter on the Riviera and Spring Break in the United Kingdom, where I ate my first "Pasty."

Pasties - which look like a turnover but have savory rather than sweet fillings - are amazingly delicious and the traditional street food of Cornwall and Wales. I had them in Penzance (yes, of the same fame as the pirates of); pastry dough wrapped around seasoned meat (lamb, beef) or potatoes, turnips, and other root veggies. So good!

I recently came across a post in the food blog world (cannot remember exactly where) that reminded me of these treats and when I noticed that they were made with a dough called "Hot Water Pastry" I knew I had to give it a try.