Blog
File this recipe! Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower And Garlic
When a kid asks for more cauliflower, note down the recipe and keep it in a safe place forever. Last month I taught parmesan-roasted cauliflower to my students for National Nutrition Month and let’s just say, I ran out of samples. Parmesan-roasted cauliflower works for 2 distinct reasons – it is roasted, allowing the flavors to mature into caramelized and lightly charred flavors – hence, no need to hold your nose with that pong that comes with boiling. The second is that the parmesan cheese adds a salty, umami kick as well as a...
read moreVegan Channa Masala
Apart from chicken tikka masala, another popular dish at the Indian joints is Channa Masala. Whilst the former dish can be a little questionable at times, Channa masala is often bang on target. Some call this a chickpea stew – I call it comfort that’s just a couple of cans away. The sauce, unlike a stew, is full bodied that is wet enough to eat with rice and stiff enough to spoon on toast. I say ‘cans’ away because using a pressure cooker leaves many people in the dark. Besides, canned-chickpeas, unlike many other canned foods,...
read moreBeef Wellington For Stormy Nights
Storms, storms, storms! Enough already. Time to bust out some goodies that are justified on days like this and what could be better than a slice of Beef Wellington. Pan roasted beef, tucked in to puffed pastry – so golden and delicious from the outside, whilst intensely meaty and savory from the inside. But what else is wrapped inside this crisp and lightly chewy dough apart from beef? A good old English mustard slathers all over this cracked-pepper beef whilst the hunk of meat is still hot. By doing this, the beef draws right...
read moreTrending for 2014: Cauliflower – My Fave Fritter
Set featured image Move over Kale, cauliflower took your spot. Yes, the vegetable that tormented my younger years with its offensive pong is back! Any farm-to table restaurant will have cauliflower purees (replacing mashed-potatoes) ,roasted cauliflower, cauliflower crusted pizza bases – there is no end to where this vegetable is going. All this talk of cauliflower did bring one dish back to life for me; cauliflower pakora – the Indian fritter. Pakoras are veggies that are submerged in a batter of chickpea flour (besan) and...
read moreChicken Pastry – My Cornish’ish Pasty
I was in England for the hols. It rained the whole bloody time. When this happens, don’t complain, just tuck in to something deeply gratifying to remove that bone dampening discomfort – it really works. When it rained in NY this weekend, I felt compelled to make that hand pie I ate all too often at school - Cornish Pasty. Cornish pasties come from Cornwall and unless you made them in your sweet little cottage over there, to you it’s just called pie my darling. They are made from steak, potatoes and swede (on this side of the...
read morePupar Ji’s b’day with Asian Pulled Pork
It was the Pupar Ji’s birthday – a title given in Hindi, to an uncle married to your father’s sister. Since we get a kick out of the name, Nitin Madan has now become Pupar Ji not just to the kids but to peers alike. Given that this man loves a piece of Americana whilst the rest of the family is on a constant fresh ginger and chili binge, I found a way to marry the two: Asian Pulled Pork sliders. For pulled pork, the shoulder butt works best. Again, in keeping with the Pupar Ji, this is yet another strange Christening as the...
read moreCognac Braised Lamb And Pearl Onions
Emotionally, what this dish did to me needs no explanation. How could it not. The sweet and savory scent of rosemary and cognac permeated every room in the apartment. Me and the Mr. curled up in our jammies on the couch savored it spoon by spoon. The stew was silky and luxurious with intense aromas of roasted lamb and braised carrots with pearled onions. Every step was given careful consideration to allow for flavors in full bloom. The lamb was seared for color and a caramelized flavor. The slow cooking allowed for fork tender pieces of meat...
read moreYou’re HOT! Salt Cured Mixed-Chilies In Mustard Oil
There’s always that one stand at the Farmers market that intimidates me. This time it was the chili stand. I love fresh chilies , especially when they are long and thin so I can snip them with my teeth. But here, it was a pick ‘n’ mix of shapes hitting different parts of the spice barometer. They were stunners, yet I felt like doing the runner. The vendor reassured me that I would in fact live if I ate one. I grabbed them and decided to cure them in salt and fennel seeds. This mellows them out and live a lot...
read moreThe Famous ‘Aloo Gobi’ – Aka Cauliflower potatoes
Espresso shot with sprite, cottage cheese with finely-diced ginger and chili, chips (or crisps depending on which side of the pond) doused with Tabasco sauce – these are just some of the atypical combinations my mind drifts in to. My latest infatuation is Gobi-Aloo (remember Bend It Like Beckham?) with Sundried tomatoes. Gobi-Aloo is the quintessential Punjabi sauté of cauliflower and potatoes in cumin and ginger. The only intruders this dish ever gets are peas or carrots. This was one of my favorite dishes growing up and the next day I...
read moreChef Agung’s Kitchen – Love from Bali XOXO Part 2
So much good food is what pushed me to break in to Chef Agung’s kitchen. Leave that food to a fond memory? Not a chance. He was going to teach me. He showed me how to make satays, which I figured would be familiar enough – ground meat with herbs and spices. But there is always that one native step that is unfamiliar to the outsider – the step that makes all the difference, Bumbu. Bumbu is a Balinese spice mixture that is used in most dishes from grilled food to curries to. Bumbu is what soffrito is to Latin cooking, or masala...
read more
Recent Comments