Cranberry Almond biscotti

A wonderful recipe for biscotti, from the fantastic Smitten Kitchen blog. I made small adjustments to the recipe, as noted here. The cranberry almond combination is a winner and I will be making this again. I was worried it was too crumbly, but in the end, the texture was fine. My biscotti were a little tubby, but they were delicious!

Ingredients

3 C flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 C or 8 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
1 C sugar
1 Tbsp orange zest
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract

1 C slivered almonds
1/3 C dried cranberries

Whisk together butter, sugar, eggs, zest, vanilla and almond extract. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Stir until combined and all the flour is incorporated well. Add the almonds and cranberries and mix well to combine.

The dough is sticky. Work with your hands if needed. Transfer to a floured work surface and add small amounts of flour as needed. Shape into 2 logs.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease cookie sheet  and place the logs with about 2 inches clearance from the edges and from each other.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely.

Slice on a bias with a serrated knife and lay flat on the same baking sheet. Bake on one side for 8 - 10 minutes and flip them. Bake them on the other side for 6-7 minutes before removing from the oven and cooling completely.

Store in an air tight container.

Mine came out slightly crumbly. I knew this was going to be an issue when I tried to slice the log after the first bake. I think this might be because I used slightly less butter than the original recipe called for.

Homemade Mixture

Searching for a snack with a satisfying crunch on a weekend afternoon, I tried yet another recipe from the wonderful Nupur's blog. Honestly, I have lost count of the number of recipes I have tried from her blog! Well, as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that! I feel truly lucky to live at a time when the internet facilitates the sharing of wonderful ideas.

It all started when I spied a bag of puffed barley at a grocery store and was struck by how it resembled Pori or Puffed Rice. I was also momentarily seized by a feeling of virtuousness. "We shall have no more store bought fried snacks at home!", I decreed to R. I shall make a healthy mixture that we can snack on using this undeniably healthy puffed barley.

I tasted the puffed barley upon returning home and it was nothing like Pori. In fact, it tasted awful. A bit like rotting cardboard, I thought to myself. But I had to salvage this gigantic bag! I quickly found inspiration in Nupur's Chivda and Bhadang recipes and decided to combine the two.

I have to say, since that first time, I have made this Mixture 3 times. We usually run through it pretty quickly. And you do end up feeling virtuous after eating a bowl of this Mixture.

Ingredients

2 T sunflower oil
1 t mustard
1 t saunf
10 - 15 curry leaves
1 t red chili powder
1 t sugar
1 t turmeric
2 C poha
1/3 C raw peanuts
1/2 C dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 C Pottu Kadalai or Roasted Gram
1 C store bought Sev
1 C puffed barley
Salt, to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan, preferably wide and not very tall. Add mustard seeds and once they have popped, add the peanuts and curry leaves. When the peanuts begin to turn light brown, add the poha and turmeric and stir well. The poha will absorb all the oil and get toasty.

Another way is to roast the peanuts separately and add them after the poha has got toasty. Add the red chili powder, salt, Pottu kadalai and puffed barley at this point and continue to roast for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the sugar, dried cranberries and store bought Sev.  Allow to cool completely before storing in an air tight container. It stays fresh for about a week, by which time we usually finish it.

Soba noodles with Lime Cilantro Pesto

Resuscitating this blog after years..

Having moved next to an Asian food market, I'm discovering many interesting ingredients and experimenting a bit. I once ate cold Soba noodles with a dipping sauce (which was mostly soy sauce with garlic and scallions) at a Japanese restaurant and found it to be a delicious summer lunch. Since then, I have been trying to use Soba noodles more. Inspiration struck when I ate a Cilantro Pesto pasta salad at Sweet Tomatoes - I decided to combine Cilantro Pesto and the Soba noodles.

This is a delicious cold lunch and tastes even better the next day. It also requires very little prep work - the Pesto is easily prepared in the blender and a bunch of vegetables can be chopped while the noodles boil.

The washing of the soba noodles once cooked takes a few extra minutes ( they need to be rinsed several times in cold water to remove the starch ) but the results are worth the effort.

Cilantro Lime Pesto:

1 bunch of cilantro, leaves and stems, roughly chopped
2 big cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
1/3 C sunflower seeds, toasted
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
1-2 T oil (toasted sesame or canola)
2 limes, zested and juiced
salt to taste
Add some pasta water to loosen up the paste

1 package of soba noodles, cooked and rinsed at least 2 times in cold water

2 cups of carrots (thinly sliced) and broccoli (steamed in the microwave)

Grilled Tofu for some Protein

1 bunch scallions: thinly sliced

Toss all together. Yum!!

Butternut Squash Khichdi

Ingredients
1 Whole Butternut Squash, cooked and cubed
1 C Rice
0.5 C Masoor Dal
4 C Water
1 T garlic, finely minced
1 T ginger, finely minced
1 T oil
1 tsp mustard
3 dried red chillies
2 bay leaves
0.5 tsp Turmeric
Red Chilli Powder, to taste
2 tsp Goda Masala
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Initial Prep:
Squash: Cook the butternut squash by microwaving on HIGH for 6-8 minutes. The cooking time may vary depending on the microwave and the size of the squash. Allow to cool, and then peel, scoop out the seeds and dice into 1 inch cubes.
Rice: Wash and soak the rice and Masoor Dal in water.
Method:
Heat oil in a large pressure cooker and add mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add the bay leaves and dried red chillies. After a few seconds, add the cubed squash, ginger and the garlic and saute for 10 minutes on medium heat, or until the raw smell from the garlic and the ginger disappears and the squash starts to brown. Drain the rice and the Dal and add to the pressure cooker. Add chilli powder to taste, and the Goda masala. Add 4 cups of water, and salt to taste. Cover and cook, as you would normally cook rice in the pressure cooker.

Allow the steam to release naturally and garnish with coriander. Serve with a dollop of ghee and some curd on the side. Yumm.

Green Olive Hummus

Ingredients

- Half a jar of green olives, perilously close to being trashed
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2-3 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 can of Garbano beans, drained and rinsed
- Juice of 1 lime
- salt and pepper to taste

Blend it all in the mixer.

Simply delicious.

Apple Crisp/Crumble

Among all the wonderful desserts out there, I think crisps/crumbles are quite special. While I enjoy baking, I am by no means a very proficient baker. I steer clear of recipes that call for more than 30 minutes of preparation time, since that usually translates to too many steps or calls for considerable skill, both of which increases room for error. 

   Anyway, crumbles are extremely simple to make. I actually think it is not possible to go wrong. Also, they mostly contain fruit. While I am not opposed to using fat or flour and personally love butter, I have an overpowering reluctance to use loads of it. I've tried, told myself repeatedly that I will not skimp on butter before starting on a recipe, and when it is time to unwrap the paper package containing the butter, something comes over me and I reduce the quantity. A few times, this has resulted in a non-ideal final product which I carry as a stark reminder for the next time, but as time goes by, I forget and revert to my old butter skimping ways.  

   Crumbles are low on flour and butter (or at least customizable), simple (a caveman can do it!) and fruity. A fair warning though: without a food processor, it requires a good bit of elbow grease. It took me quite a while slicing the apples and mixing the butter into the flour. 

I adapted Ina Garten' s recipe to suit my tastes.

Ingredients
Filling:
6 medium apples, sliced ( I used Granny Smith )
2 T lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
1/2 C sugar ( will reduce it to 1/3 C next time )
2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1.5 T flour
1 t ground dried ginger

Topping:
1 C oats
3/4 C flour
4 T cold butter
1 t salt
1/3 C sugar

Slice the apples. Some recipes call for peeling the apples, but unless the skin is too tough, I don't think it is necessary. Add lemon juice and zest, since it prevents browning of the apples. Combine all the other ingredients for the filling and toss so that all the apples are coated with all the spices. The flour really helps, since it thickens as it cooks with the juices of the apples, making a nice sauce. Grease a pie dish with some butter and arrange the apple slices in it, and set aside.

   Cut the butter into cubes and add them to a large bowl with flour, salt and sugar. Using your fingers, break the butter into the flour until no large lumps remain. This process took me nearly 10 minutes. Next, add the oatmeal and combine thoroughly. Add handfuls of the flour-butter mixture on the apples, until they are evenly distributed.
   Bake in a 350 F oven for 1 hour, or until the topping has browned well. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before consuming.

   Apple Crumble tastes wonderful plain or you can take it up a notch by serving it with plain vanilla ice cream.

Creamy Dreamy Sweet Potato Soup

I love sweet potatoes. They are so easy to cook, and are so versatile. I often roast them in the oven with oil, salt and chilli powder to make a quick side. They taste great caramelized with jaggery and a bit of ghee.. but that is another recipe! This time I added them to a soup. It reminded me quite a bit of butternut squash soup ( another favorite with me ), maybe because of the colour and the addition of cinnamon. In any case, the potatoes cooked up extremely quickly and when pureed, the soup was silky soft and creamy I fell in love with the texture immediately.

Ingredients
2 Large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3-4 large carrots, diced
1 medium onion, minced
2-3 stalks celery, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 T butter/olive oil
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t cayenne
3 C vegetable stock
1 C milk, at room temperature (optional)
Salt and ground pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the chopped onions, celery, garlic and carrots with a pinch of salt and allow to cook until the onions have turned translucent, and the celery and carrots are tender. Add thyme, cayenne, salt and pepper and stir well. Now add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the sweet potato cubes, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg and cover, allowing the contents to simmer on low-medium heat. Stir occasionally. After about 15 minutes or when the potatoes are tender, turn off the heat and allow to cool. I use an immersion blender, so I puree liquids when they are hot, but if using a regular blender, allow to cool. Add a cup of room temperature milk/dash of cream and adjust the consistency by adding more stock/water.

 Bring it back on to low heat, not allowing to boil but only heating through. Garnish with chopped cilantro.