My Precious

I don’t think there is a single person in the world who has ever hated an immersion blender after owning one. There can never be. Immersion blenders are my favouritest kitchen gadgets of all time. These magical sticks can literally transform a lifeless kitchen into an able and lively one. You can say that’s funny but I feel like I can accomplish anything when I use my Cuisinart hand blender.

And what caused this sudden flood of excitement?

I ran out of mayo. I am lazier than ever to go to the grocery store. So I decided I would make mayo. I have seen it done and figured it shouldn’t be that hard a recipe. I looked into my barren fridge again and realized I had just one egg.

Mayo Experiment no.1: So maybe I let the whole “I can accomplish anything with my stick blender” get to my head. I chucked in all the ingredients without measures and started the emulsification process. To my dismay, it was one smooth drink and never turned into the gloppy mess that we want. There goes my mayo down the drain!

After the failure of my 1st experiment, I forced myself to look into the internet for an “eggless mayonnaise” recipe. I swear I was laughing when I was searching for an eggless version. I am totally against eggless anything and find eggless recipes an excuse to cook the real thing. Nevertheless, I found one that had ingredients I could manage to procure immediately.

Mayo Experiment no.2: Bumped into The David Blagh and found this beauty of recipes. I made the very first one and this time I tried the stream-your-oil-in version to make the mayo. Delish! Seasoned the mayo with some pepper at the end of it. Just so delicious it is as good as the real thing. On second thoughts, even better than the real thing. Why? Have you ever had a look at the label of a store-bought mayo bottle? They add so many other ingredients besides eggs, oils, vinegar, lemons. I read the label off my old bottle and the first ingredient was enough to put me off -”Modified potato starch”.

That said, do try the eggless version or the regular egg version. Making mayo at home is so simple and far more cost effective and tastier and safer than store bought ones. Bon Appetit!

Chai Tea

In my recent quest to lose some weight and get back in shape, I decided to stay off coffee for sometime now. I have replaced it with tea and that includes the milky masala chai. And no, you cannot call it chai tea because the chai is in the tea. Chai is tea in Hindi. The spices you add to chai is called masala. 

I figured if I was going to be giving up so much caffeine, the least caffeine I could give myself was through some moderately caffeinated black tea. Surprisingly, I have strayed away and now am able to appreciate caffeine free teas. The best part of it all is the absence of jitters or caffeine buzz or mood fluctuations. I find myself calm for most of the day. I am able to stay positive and make rational decisions without the dramatic push that I usually get from coffee. 

I haven’t started experimenting with loose leaf teas yet. I have begun with tea sachets hoping I will acquire a taste for a more grassier tasting tea. I bought 3 flavours from Celestial Seasonings – Bengal Spice (an imitation of Indian chai with spices minus the caffeinated tea), Morning Thunder (incase I was looking for some caffeine – I have not tried this yet. Will let you know pretty soon) and Sleepytime (more to relax me at night than put me to sleep. Note: It can put anyone down to sleep as it has this plant called valerin which is known for its relaxing properties). Besides these, I also have a bit of green tea and raspberry leaf tea from Traditional Medicinals (which claims to be good for the female system). 

So far, I am falling more and more in love with just plain tea without adding any milk/cream/sugar/honey. I have heard Lupicia has a great collection of Japanese teas. Plan to make a visit soon. Any suggestions are welcome! 

How on earth have I missed Whole Foods? Seriously, who does that? In my newfound spirit to eat more healthy, I was looking at different websites to pick up what everyone was doing and where everyone was shopping. I had heard of Whole Foods through some family but never really got around to it. Maybe because I was questioning “I get the same tomatoes at Sprouts (my 1st love)”.

So yesterday as I was trying to make a list of things to buy to fill up my pantry, I wondered if Whole Foods might be a new experience for my parents visiting from India. We have a few stores that cater to Western products but none with this intensity back home. And I was right.

Aisle after aisle, I felt like a kid shopping in a toy store. Not only did everything look so healthy, it all looked beautiful. The variety… oh the variety… I have never been to a store that had so much to offer, no wonder I see many people around America becoming vegetarians/vegans. After a couple of hours, I ended up with some goods that are out of my normal shopping spectrum and headed home.

This morning as part of my plan to get breakfast no matter what, I decided to make a smoothie. Ok maybe this is not as lean or low in fats but a healthy and delicious smoothie nevertheless.

Banana/Almond Butter/Flaxseed/Raw Hemp Smoothie

Ingredients

1 whole banana

1 T almond butter (crunchy or smooth)

2 T flaxseed (ground or whole)

1 T raw green hemp seeds (ground or whole)

A swirl of honey

1 c. milk

2 T plain yoghurt (feel free to go crazy with the flavors)

Method:

• In a blender, put 2 tablespoons of plain yoghurt. To this, add 2 T flax seeds and 1 T raw hemp. Give it a whizz until blended through.
• Add the milk, the banana and the almond butter. Blend until all ingredients are well-combined.
• Lastly, serve in a tall glass and top off with a swirl of honey.

Healthy, uber delicious and packed with fiber, potassium, vitamins and more. If you live in America, be sure to check out Whole Foods. If you already have, do let me know if there is something else I should be checking out. Have fun!

Creamy Egg Salad Sandwich

I know… it’s been ages since I’ve published a post. It has been super busy and super exciting with mom and dad here. Traveling almost every single weekend, loads of shopping and many movies to catch up together on Netflix! Yes… the one thing most people living in America can’t do without!

Off late, I have been on a pretty food cooking spree. And that means healthy, yummy and beautiful-looking (I know many of my Indian friends are going …. what on earth??! Since taste surpasses texture in Indian cuisine… Ok, that may not be entirely true… but I can hardly think of any Indian that plates up every single meal. There. That’s my point) Thanks to my recent craving for colorful and pretty salads, I have begun to explore. Finally, I can say I am starting to think fibre can also be tasty. And that is something I will reserve to talk about in another post.

Last night, I was thinking to myself… how hard can it be to just get a bowl of cereal, pop a slice or two of bread in the toaster, crack an egg, beat and whip an omelette or simply make a porridge of oatmeal or millets? Let me tell you. Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day pour moi. Why? Because I grew up drinking a runny sweetened porridge that we call “kanji” before heading to school or college. Mom would always have them waiting at the dining table and all I was expected to do was drink it up and dash to school.  Breakfast was always something I knew, in the back of my mind, was good for health. Yet, something I never got around to make a habit until quite recently. Now I manage to get something every once in a while. It’s still not as good but something nevertheless.

So this morning after what I thought was another futile attempt at waking up early, I was woken up by my brand new community with the gazillion sounds of a gazillion bulldozers that are clearly not supposed to run at 8AM. Not good for the sleepy soul. A couple of coffees later, I decided I wanted to get myself a good breakfast. And to me, a good breakfast has to have eggs. I popped open the fridge only to find I had barely any veggies or other ingredients. My mind started doing its own weird thing and took me to an airport late at night. Most airports close their best restaurants by 8 or 9pm. The only places that are open then are small cafes that serve coffee, cakes, salads and basic sandwiches. And I thought… creamy egg salad. When I told my mom I was going to make us some creamy egg salad sandwich, she cringed her nose and said she wasn’t too comfortable knowing that it would have yellow mustard in it. I convinced her if she tried this, she wouldn’t be disappointed. She loved the sandwich and was pleasantly surprised at how the flavors had blended well covering the sour flavors of yellow mustard.

Creamy Egg Salad Sandwich (Makes 4)

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1/4 cup light mayo

1 tsp yellow mustard or any mustard you have on hand

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp powdered black pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

1 tsp chives (optional)

Method:

1. Bring some water to a running boil in a saucepan. 
2. Add the eggs and let them boil in the water for 15 mins.
3. In the meantime, take a medium bowl add in the rest of the ingredients.
4. Once the eggs are done, run them in cold water immediately. (Trick to avoid eggs going green – grey)
5. Mix it all up until it looks absolutely divine.
6. Take a slice of bread. Add 2 tbsp of the creamy egg salad and close it up with another slice.
7. Relish this Delish!

Frankie Roll – Indian wrap with paneer filling

Before you all start to wonder why an Indian recipe is called Frankie, I will do the honors of introducing this amazing street food to you subscribers and readers who follow my blog!

Frankie is a delicious Indian wrap created by Mr. Amarjit Tibbs, an Indian from the Bollywood city of Mumbai. The story goes he had a stopover at Beirut during one of his journeys. He tried a mysterious food wrap which is none other than the yummy lebanese pita wrap. On his return, he tried to recreate the same but only with an Indian twist along with his wife. They researched for many years and finally, ended up making something very Indian and yummy that was similar to the pita wrap but not quite the same. Mr. Tibbs named the roll after his favorite cricket player Frank Worrell. And hence, Frankie.

Now that I’ve given a pretty detailed version of the story behind Frankies, let’s move on..

I have been in a mode of making something new everyday for the past week and the scapegoat being my husband. I had a sudden idea that flashed my mind to try a wrap and immediately, I was reminded of the good ol’ school days when I would rush to the Frankie food cart every weekend to get some of that scrumptious wrap. So I decided to attempt recreating this recipe in my kitchen using my awesome cooking instincts. It came out really well and I must say not that difficult (especially if you have many ingredients in your pantry).

Frankie Roll

Makes 5-6 frankies

Equipment needed: Rolling board (can use surface), Rolling pin, food processor (optional – to make dough – use dough attachment and mix until it is a shaggy mess. Knead later by hand to form a smooth ball of dough), omelette pan or pancake pan, foil.

For the dough:

1/2 cup white flour

1/2 cup atta or finely ground wheat flour

2 tsp oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup hot water

*I’m not sure if the American version of wheat flour can give the same result. If you do not have Atta or a fine wheat flour, substitute wholly with white flour or 3/4th cup white flour and 1/4th wheat flour. You may not have to use all the water. Use until dough is soft.

• In a mixing bowl, put the flours, 1 tsp oil and salt.
• Make a well in the middle.
• Add water in small portions and mix it until it becomes a shaggy mess.
• Dust a wooden kneading board and use your hand to knead the dough using the heel of your hand.
• Knead until the dough is soft.
• Coat with 1 tsp oil.
• Invert a bowl on the dough to let it rest for at least 2-3 hours.

For the filling

1 onion

2 roma tomatoes

4 thai green chillies (reduce or cut this completely depending on your preferred spice levels)

1 block of Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) cut into 15 – 20 1/2 inch cubes. Leave the rest covered in the refrigerator.

1 pinch turmeric

2 tsp garam masala/curry powder

1 tsp coriander-cumin powder

1 tsp red chilly powder

2 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp kasoori methi

• Put the onions, tomatoes and green chillies in a blender in chunky pieces and blend until it is a very smooth puree.
• In a deep bottomed pot, put 1 tbsp oil.
• When the oil is hot, put 1 tsp cumin seeds and let it splutter.
• Pour the puree. Close the pot for a couple of minutes as the puree may bubble.
• Put the turmeric, coriander-cumin powder, garam masala/curry powder and red chilly powder. Mix.
• Close the pot and let it cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.
• In a microwaveable plate, put the paneer cubes, sprinkle some water and place in microwave for 1 min.
• Open the pot and put the softened paneer.
• Mix until blended well.
• Add salt. Mix well.
• Cook for another 2 mins.
• Take a tsp of kasoori methi in a microwaveable plate. Put it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.
• Take the dried leaves and rub them into the dish. Stir until mixed through.
• Turn off heat.

For making the Frankie

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

3-5 thai green chillies chopped

1/2 cup chopped onions

Mild cheddar cheese or Colby jack cheese (I used 1tbsp per frankie roll)

Oil

Put the chopped green chillies in the vinegar and let it soak.
Put the pan on medium heat (key is to have the pan hot)
Take a rolling board and pin.

Knead the dough again for a few seconds. Make into small balls.
Take a small ball and dust with flour.
Roll on the board.

Put it on the pan and flip it over when you see tiny bubbles forming.

Drizzle some oil and spread it on the frankie roll.Flip it again. Drizzle oil again. Spread.Take it off the heat. Place it on a plate.

Put 2 tbsp of the filling.

Put one tbsp (more or less according to spice levels) of the vinegar green chillies mixture.

Top one tbsp of chopped onions.Sprinkle 1 tbsp of cheese.

Roll and wrap with foil. Make sure one end of the frankie is covered by the foil to avoid spills from the frankie.

Roasted Chickpeas with cayenne and spices

Sunny California is now raining cats and dogs. The cities are wet, green and cool from the rains. Some spicy snack accompanied with a nice wintery cocktail makes this recipe so good.

Roasted Chickpeas with cayenne and spices

Ingredients: 

2 cans garbanzo beans

cayenne powder (according to taste)

1/4 tsp cumin seed

Spice mix (Method below)

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

Asafoetida (optional)

For the spice mix:

2 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp dried lentils

5 dried red chillies (more for more heat; less for less heat)

1/4 cup shredded coconut

Roast coriander seeds and chillies in a tsp of oil. When they start to brown, reduce heat and add shredded coconut. Cook until brown or until coconut loses moisture. Make into a coarse powder using your coffee grinder.

• In a pan, put 2 tbsp olive oil.
• Put cumin seeds and let it splutter.
• Wash the garbanzo after draining the liquid from the can.
• Put the washed and drained garbanzo into the pan.
• Saute for a min and add the cayenne powder.
• Mix and add salt. Keep sauteeing.
• After about 5 mins, add the ground mixture. Mix and let the garbanzo roast for another 2-3 mins.
• Top off with butter.
• Garnish with cilantro and a slice of lime (the lime can be squeezed onto the garbanzo for added flavor)

Damn those lemon cravings!

For some weird reason, I have been dreaming about lemon tarts for a few days now. Every night I go to bed, I imagine myself in one of those Vegas buffets filling my plate with petite desserts and popping in those chewy crumbly lemony goodness. It’s just the start of the week and I’m already dreaming of dessert. Knowing that this dream would only come true over the weekend and my patience running as thin as a slice of cheese about to melt away, I decided to look up the recipe on the internet.

Now let me tell you this — I always thought lemon tarts was one of those difficult recipes (not too difficult; but mediocrely so..) that required some skill (yes, it does need some of that) and a lot of patience (yes, it does need some of that too especially if it’s all you have been dreaming about for days). I realized this is one of the easiest dessert recipes I have ever come across. The prep time is very less — literally 10 mins to put the whole thing together. The baking time of course is in two steps and that takes you an overall 40 mins. Now the recipe I got off the net called for certain measures. I strayed a little away from it and ended up baking my tart in a regular baking dish. If you don’t have a tart pan and are not going to buy one in the near future andddd obviously don’t mind a tart that looks more like a pie, this recipe works perfectly.

Lemon Tart 

For the pastry

5 tbsp butter

4 tbsp icing sugar

1 cup flour

Ice cold water

For the filling

3 eggs

1 cup caster sugar (I didn’t have this; so I substituted it with granulated sugar pulsed through my hand grinder)

4 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp flour

icing sugar for dusting (I used 1 tbsp as I used a regular baking dish. This would vary on a tart pan)

Zest of 1 lemon

Cut cold butter into small pieces and mix with icing sugar until it all looks crumbly.

Add in the flour and beat until you get crumbly texture.

Add a few spoons of ice cold water and knead lightly (Do not overwork the dough).

Knead until it looks like a pastry dough.

Grease your tart pan/baking dish with butter. Preheat oven to 360 deg F.

Spread the dough on your tart pan and place in oven for 15-20 mins or until the crust is golden brown.

As the tart crust sits in the oven, in a bowl, combine eggs, sugar, zest, juice and flour until smooth.

Pour this mixture on the hot pastry and place in the oven for another 15-20 mins.

You will know the tart is ready when you shake the pan and the mixture jiggles ever so slightly or there is no movement at all.

Remove from oven. Let cool on a cooling rack.

Dust the tart with icing sugar. Make lemon peel curls (using a zester or a knife if you can manage to carve out the peel).

I’m so terrible at it that I instead decorated the tart with a few peels and mint leaves.

Cut up and serve. Enjoy!

One more time with cookies

On a recent trip to San Diego, we halted at a small cafe close to old town. The variety of sweet concoctions were too tempting and we had to order a bit of everything just for the sake of trying the sweet goods. My first bite into the chocolate chip cookie spread a moment of pure happiness followed immediately by the thought of my failure to bake decent cookies dampened my spirit heavily. I believe that I am a cook with pretty good instincts and hence cannot be an utter failure in anything I make. And here I was stuck with what people around the world called the easiest recipe on earth and I could not make ones that would never end up in the bin. This thought constantly tucked itself in the back of my mind. And I was always reminded of this particular problem I had to overcome someday.

Today, being of one those K-away-at-work days, I decided to go into my kitchen and experiment. I vaguely remembered having bought some sugar -packed brown and granulated white for this very purpose. Alas I could not find granulated white in my pantry. Now you would think “Which home would not have a packet of granulated white sugar in their pantry?”. Well, mine wouldn’t. You see, me and K shifted to using sugar in the raw crystals in our coffees and hence didn’t really see the need to have white sugar unless of course I was baking in the kitchen. Faced with a new situation of a lack of white sugar and a super craving to bake chocolate chip cookies the right way, I told myself I would do this somehow despite my terrible background in baking.

The recipe I was going to use which I picked up from a Good Housekeeping magazine called for white sugar and semi-sweet chocolate chips – neither of which were available in my pantry. So I decided to chuck the recipe and use my own measurements just to see how it would turn out. And to my surprise, they were perfect. Though I would want to work on the uniformity and color of the cookies, I thought this attempt tasted heavenly and content with the result that I have decided to share this recipe with you.

Sugar in the Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1.4 cups white flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar in the raw
1 stick of room temperature butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 a packet of milk chocolate chips or 6 oz of milk chocolate chips

METHOD

1. In a bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Keep aside.
2. Use the mixing device of your choice and blend in 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup of sugar in the raw and a stick of room temperature butter or 8 tablespoons of butter.
3. When it is thoroughly mixed, add the yolk of one egg and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Do not use imitation as I’m not sure if it was this that ruined my cookies or if it was the baking soda.
4. Blend this mixture well before you add in the flour mixture.
5. Transfer the contents back into the bowl.
6. Add in the chips. Mix with a silicone spatula.
7. Preheat oven to 375 deg f.
8. Use an icecream scoop or roll same sized balls of cookie in your hand and place them at least 3 inches apart as these will spread in the oven.
9. Bake until edges are golden or for around 13 mins.
10. Remove and place in cooling rack. Let it cool completely before consumption.

Be sure to listen – Tumbleweed Wanderers

After a series of crazy downloading of apps from the Apple appstore, I found this new app called “Band of the Day”. This app introduces you to a new band every single day. Most bands featured on this app are artists who are yet to discovered or emerging. With some of the new music we hear today sounding almost the same, I have been straying back to the 70s,80s, and 90s for unique sounds and am constantly in search of a new artist/band that can introduce the listener to something new, fresh and unique. And let me tell you, Band of the Day is just the perfect app if you are the kind of person that likes to experiment with sounds and have a ear for a wide variety of genres. Being someone who falls in that exact category, I was faced with two bands. Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys / Tumbleweed Wanderers. While Lindsay Lou is more of a modern take on traditional American music and need not necessarily be something everyone can relate to, Tumbleweed Wanderers are a band of artists who make music that I think is fresh and something everyone can listen to. If you are the kind of person that likes a bit of every genre out there, you will definitely love Tumbleweed Wanderers. Check them out. If you are anything like I have described in the notes above, you will definitely like these guys.

Experiments with Whole Wheat

My experiments with pasta continues. As I discover new flavors and basking in the thorough joy of making homemade pasta, I can’t help but feel guilty every time I look in  my pantry for that white flour. Why does something that tastes so good have to be high in calories? Why isn’t there a single thing that can be eaten in large portions much like we drink water and still not tip off the scale? In my frustration, I decided to pick up some organic whole wheat pasta during the next grocery visit. When I walked down the pasta aisle to pick up the box, my mind immediately started doing its magic of figuring out what would go with whole wheat. After reading dozens of forums that claim whole wheat pasta a sin committed by health freaks, I was skeptical for sure. But I wasn’t going to give up. I had to make this to see for myself.

Content with myself for not getting swayed by the Internet, I went to the veggies aisle and picked up whatever I could find that would go with this pasta. I grabbed some zucchini, mushrooms, basil, a bottle of tomato and basil sauce that was on sale and a bag of locally grown garlic. After a few days of eating junk food over the weekend and with K away at work, I decided today had to be the perfect day to experiment with whole wheat pasta knowing K’s aversion to anything healthy. Try it, test it and then serve it. Before I started to cook, I was watching some random youtube videos on boiling whole wheat pasta. This chef ( I don’t remember the name) explained how when you salt the water you boil the pasta in (any kind ) must taste like the ocean. Interesting. I have never thought of that before. All I ever did was throw the pasta in some boiling water with a pinch of salt and a spoon of oil.  Immediately after watching the video, I headed into the kitchen and started to cook. Here’s my recipe for the whole wheat pasta…. Let’s call it “Nutty Brown” (brown for the wheat and nutty for the nutty flavor it gives)

Nutty Brown (Serves 2 – 3 people)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat spaghetti (Half a box of store bought whole wheat)

Salt (until the water does taste like the ocean)

A spoon of oil

Ingredients for sauce:

3/4ths of a bottle of tomato and basil sauce (any store bought brand or home made)

Half a larrrrrge red onion or 1 medium sized red onion (I like red because it adds to the sweetness and looks great in a red wine sauce)

A knob of garlic

1 zucchini

A couple of pinches of salt

Some pepper

Chilli flakes (optional)

2-3 gratings of parmigiano reggiano

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of red wine ( I used Zinfandel. I’m sure any regular table red would work)

Method:

1. Chop up the veggies. I roughly chopped the mushrooms.

2. Saute the onions and garlic in 1 tbsp of olive oil until onions start to brown. At this point, add chili flakes if you like some heat or skip.

3. Add one more spoon of oil and add the mushrooms and zucchini. Cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add a cup of red wine and let it reduce until the veggies start to look thick and saucy.

5. Add 3/4th of a bottle of tomato and basil sauce and combine until thoroughly cooked. Usually takes about 2 minutes.

6. Turn off heat and serve on a plate of spaghetti. Don’t forget to sprinkle some parmesan! Enjoy!