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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Steamed Baby Artichoke with Balsamic Vinaigrette

steamed baby artichoke in balsamic vinaigrette recipe

I've been on the fence about artichokes.

I like canned artichoke hearts a lot - as toppings on homemade pizza, or in salads and paninis. As to fresh artichokes, it just seems like it is more work to eat it than to cook it... however, these purple baby artichokes at the Farmer's market were begging to be given another chance in my kitchen and the results were quite satisfactory :)

The few times I've had whole large green artichoke steamed and served with melted garlic butter, it seemed like I was discarding more than ingesting the leaves, at least the outer spiky fibrous leaves.

And it reminded me of eating murungakai (Moringa oleifera, aka drumstick) when I was little - a long spiky vegetable usually served in sambars in South India: murungakai has soft flesh with a thick ridged outer skin which, even after hours of cooking is never soft enough to swallow. So, one has to scrape the inner pulp with one's teeth and discard the skin.

steamed baby artichoke in balsamic vinaigrette recipeWhile this variety is a mature artichoke (nothing much baby about it except its size), it seemed to not have as many harsh and thorny outer leaves, and that was one primary reason I wanted to give it another try.

Boiling usually leeches out nutrients and color, so, I liked to steam it. I used the steamer that is part of my rice cooker, but, I am sure idli cooker or even microwave would be fine to steam these. And rather than melted butter sauce, I just drizzled some home-made balsamic vinaigrette.

Ingredients
whole baby artichokes

Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp finely chopped spring onions

Preparation
  1. Trim the stem and outer leaves, cut the tip off a bit and steam the artichokes till a toothpick inserted at the bottom goes through without resistance
  2. Prepare the vinaigrette, fan out the leaves a bit, drizzle over the steamed artichoke and serve fresh, or allow to marinate for about 15-20 minutes before serving



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Friday, November 06, 2009

Buckwheat Bathura

buckwheat chaolay bathura fried indian bread quick and easy

I love buckwheat flour, am not sure why... I mean, I know its many virtues, and that could be the reason.

Bathura is a lightly fried Indian bread, usually made with whole wheat flour. This bathura recipe is not very different from my older one, except I used a combination of buckwheat flour and whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.

Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp canola oil
water or buttermilk as needed
salt to taste

Preparation
  1. Knead the ingredients into a smooth elastic dough, cover and allow to sit for about 15-20 minutes
  2. Meanwhile, heat some oil for frying the bathura
  3. When ready, divide the dough into roughly golf-ball-sized rounds, then flatten out with a rolling pin to about ¼ inch thick, dusting with flour as needed
  4. Fry one at a time till it puffs up and turns darker, flip or dunk the bathura in oil to make sure both sides are cooked, drain
  5. Serve warm with a few sides like Mutter-Tofu curry, Paneer Kofta Curry, Cholay, Dal, chutneys...





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Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Mutter Tofu Curry

peas and tofu curry indian vegetarian matar paneer

This is an adaptation of my favorite North Indian style curry called Mutter-Paneer which is basically Peas (Mutter) and Fried Paneer in a delicious gravy.

About once a month or so, I get a large batch of extra firm tofu, marinate, bake or pan-fry, and store it in the fridge/freezer for use over the next few weeks.

For a quick curry, it is nice to use ready-made pastes: I like Patak's Tikka Masala paste, Vindaloo Curry paste, Biriyani paste, and Rogan Josh paste. But, it is just as easy to create my own paste with whatever is handy.

Ingredients
6 cups frozen peas
1 can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion chopped finely
cilantro, spring onions for garnish
salt to taste
1-2 tsp brown sugar, adjust to taste

For the sauce/gravy:
dry toasting:
1 Tbsp white poppy seeds
1 star anise
2 cardamom pods
2 cloves
2 Tbsp fennel seeds
1-2 indian bay leaves
2 2" piece of chinese/indian cinnamon bark
Plus:
1-2 jalapenos or serrano
1" piece ginger, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp canola oil

Preparation
  1. For Curry/Sauce/Gravy:Dry toast the sauce/gravy spices, then grind them to fine powder, set aside
  2. Combine the rest of the sauce ingredients and grind to a fine paste
  3. Heat oil in a pan, sauté the ground paste till rawness subsides, then add the chopped onions, peas, tomatoes, some salt, water and the powdered spices, simmer over medium-low heat
  4. When peas are cooked through but not mushy, drop in the baked or pan-fried tofu and simmer to desired consistency, adjust flavors
  5. Garnish with cilantro, chopped spring onions and serve warm with naan, bathura or even plain basmati rice

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