Thursday, August 30, 2012

Anything But Rice: Quinoa Bulgur Cakes & Poached Eggs

I just received the tiiiiniest little adorable bag of quinoa from one of Tal's coworkers who recently returned from London. I am SO EXCITED. A grain?! Other than rice?! 

*Cue the Hallelujah Choir*

So you figure, the smart thing to do... since I only have about 2 cups worth, would be to save it for a special occasion.

No.

I am a child of the technology era. 

I require instant gratification.


Quinoa & Bulgur Cakes with Poached Eggs


Adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa, at room temperature (1/4 cup dry)
  • 1 cup cooked bulgur, at room temperature (1/4 cup dry)
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • ½ tsp. coarse salt
  • 1/3 cup minced green onions, chopped
  • 2 large shallots, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ cup whole grain bread crumbs, plus more if needed
  • Olive oil, for frying patties
  • (for serving) grated or shaved Parmesan
  • (for serving) poached or fried eggs 
  • (for serving) Salt and pepper
  • Made 8 small patties


Directions:



Sunday, August 19, 2012

Aloo Gobi

Indian Food: It's a Love/Hate Sorta Thing

I'm not a picky eater. I like pretty much every style of cuisine I've tried. But up until about 6 weeks ago, I DID. NOT. eat Indian food. I didn't "not care" for Indian food. I didn't "eat Indian food occasionally". I didn't "eat the American bastardization of Indian food".

I resolutely. absolutely. unwaveringly. DID NOT eat Indian food.


Why YES, there IS  a story behind it, how did you guess?


The summer before my freshman year of high school, my dear friend Hannah and her parents invited me to join them in nearby Ithaca, New York for dinner and a play. Dinner was to be at an Indian restaurant near the Cornell campus.


At  the tender young age of 14 and 2 months, my innocent, Caucasian, small-town palate had yet to experience the flavor explosion that is Indian food. But I took to it with abandon. "Too hot?" The skeptical waiter asked while offering naan and yogurt, "Psshhht, heck no! Bring on the curry, peeps! And hit me with some spicy dal while you're at it."


After dinner we walked into the beautiful Cornell campus for the show. Midway through the first act my tummy started to rumble. The closer we got to intermission, the more violent the rumbles became. By the time they closed the curtains and turned the lights on signaling the conclusion of the act,  I was the definition of clammy. I tried to play it cool and walked slowly to the bathroom with Hannah. As we got closer we discovered that, of course, there was a HUGE line. Hannah, being the good, kind, eloquent friend she is, started pushing past the annoyed looking ladies in front of us and yelled "SHE'S GONNA BLOW!!!!!"


And blow she did. And no I did not make it into a stall. And I spent the next 2 days hanging out with my good friend Ms. Porcelain. (As this was pre-college, this was my first serious relationship with Ms. Porcelain.)


For years after that weekend I couldn't even smell Indian food without becoming nauseated. So when I found out we were moving to India...I was a tad bit nervous to say the least. But I'm happy to report that after a few practice rounds in New York before we left, I'm not only a champion Indian food consumer but I'm getting pretty darn good at the preparation too!


Oh..sorry..you don't really want to think about eating now? My bad.


Aloo Gobi & Masoor Dal aur Band Gobi  (with brown rice...which I'm pretty sure is sag-relig and going to get me deported. Whatevs. My intestines are happy).



(Potatoes and Cauliflower &  Red Lentils with Cabbage)


Here's something I've learned about Indian cooking. Completely prepare ALL of your ingredients before you start putting things in the pot, because when that oil starts to sputter... you can be sure, SHE'S GONNA BLOW!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Chole Pindi & Chole Palak

Chickpeas For Everyone!

Today is my one month-iversary in Bangalore! 

I haven't had the opportunity to take any cooking lessons yet but until I get the chance to do so, I've made it one of my goals to try my hand at one new dish a week. When we go out to eat I write down the foods I like and then look up recipes when I get home. I'm far (very. very. veryveryvery far) from being able to adapt and experiment, but I'm having fun learning about all the different spices here and I've only almost blown up our kitchen 6 or 7 times! (Our housekeeper physically removed the lighter from my hand when she saw me attempting to light our stove my first week here...)

Hot meals, made from scratch, are part of the culture here so you can't find nearly as many packaged/pre-made foods at the grocery store. But fresh produce and all sorts of grains and spices are readily available and SUPER affordable.

This cost about $25, and most of that was because of the imported ingredients like red-wine vinegar.


Anyhoo.. the first dish I tried is called Chole Palak, Chickpeas & Spinach.



I have to admit something a little embarrassing...  I've never made beans from scratch.  Most recipes call for canned and I'm a rule follower. (Except, of course, when I'm not.)

But here in India? Not an option. And so began my adventure with Indian cooking.

I bought a small bag of chickpeas and decided to make the whole thing. Google told me I could just freeze what I didn't need. Let's just say... my freezer wasn't big enough to store the spare chickpeas that resulted from this little experiment.

Therefore, my second dish was Chole Pindi:

It doesn't look that different, but trust me... it is.
The instructions on this one required some creative thinking, so here's what I did:

Put the soaked chickpeas in a large pot filled with water. Add 2 tea bags (chai if you can find it, otherwise English Breakfast will do) and salt and cook till soft. Once cooked to desired softness, remove the tea bags. Drain the chickpeas, but reserve liquid.

Dry roast pomegranate seeds, coriander seeds, half the turmeric powder, half the red chilli powder, and dry mango powder. This is the chana masala. 

Heat three tablespoons ghee or butter in a deep frying pan or wok.  Add one teaspoon cumin seeds and sauté till it changes colour. Add onions and sauté till golden. Add ginger paste, garlic paste, red chilli powder, remaining turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and continue to sauté. Add boiled chickpeas, a pinch of salt and a quarter cup reserved cooking liquid from the chickpeas.

Meanwhile heat one tablespoon ghee/butter in a pan, add the remaining cumin seeds and tomatoes. Add slit green chillies and a little salt and toss. Stir and press the tomatoes lightly. Add a little water and cook for two minutes. Add to the chickpeas along with chana masala and garam masala. Stir to mix well and cook for fifteen to twenty minutes on low heat. Add water or reserved cooking liquid a few tablespoons at a time if need be.

Serve hot. 




After the two traditional Indian dishes I made a roasted red pepper sauce and used it to toss whole grain pasta, green beans and chickpeas.

And then I made a big batch of hummus.

And then I added chickpeas to some bulgur and steamed summer veggies.

And then I tossed some into a salad.

And I still. have. chickpeas.