Whole-wheat Pooris

Holy cow

Ingredients:

2 cups whole-wheat durum flour (can use regular whole-wheat flour)

1 tsp canola or other vegetable oil

About 3/4 cup of water for kneading

1/4 cup soy yogurt (optional)

1/2 tsp salt

Canola or peanut oil for frying

In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the ingredients other than the water until the flour resembles coarse crumbs.

Adding the water a little at a time, knead the flour into a stiff but pliable dough. You may need more or less water, sometimes depending on the humidity in your area that day. Add more flour if the dough becomes too sticky. Continue kneading for a couple of minutes after the flour comes together.


Place the dough in an airtight container or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and set aside for at least half an hour.

Now break off a piece of the dough and roll into a smooth ball between the palms of your hands, about 3/4-inch in diameter. Roll the ball in some flour and then roll into a circle about 3 inches in diameter. The dough should not stick easily, but if it does, flour the surface as needed.

Do not use a rolling pin with ball-bearings-- the kind you'd use to roll pie dough-- because it is too heavy for the job. Instead, get a slender rolling pin about an inch in diameter, at most, and use that. It's lighter and easier to manipulate and within no time you'll be a pro at using it to make all sorts of Indian breads. I bought mine from the Indian grocery store in my area. Tip: to ensure that your pooris fluff up perfectly, try and roll the dough evenly. Don't press down on the rolling pin: apply the gentlest of pressures with your palms, just enough to keep it rolling. A great way to also ensure that you get a perfect and even round is to rotate the dough just a little bit each time you roll -- that will make the poori perfectly round and even.

Continue making pooris with the rest of the dough. You can lay them out on a cookie sheet and it's okay if they overlap a bit- when the dough is fresh they won't easily stick to each other.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan (a kadai or any container with a rounded bottom works best for this. I don't have a kadai so I use a 6-inch cast-iron skillet), pour oil to a depth of 1 inch.

Heat the oil to 375 degrees-- a frying or candy thermometer is a great investment. But another way to do this is to break off a teeny tiny bit of the dough and put it in the frying pan. If it sinks to the bottom and rises immediately, your oil is hot enough. If not, wait. Putting foods in cold oil is a surefire way to make the food suck in all the oil and what you'll get is oil-clogged, limp and inedible pooris.

Once the oil is perfectly hot, place a poori in the center of the frying pan. Using a kitchen spider or a spatula with holes in it (I've no idea what it's called) like the one I have, push down the center of the poori into the oil, gently with the edge of the spatula, until the poori begins to puff up.




After the poori has puffed up completely, turn over and cook the other side for another 30 seconds or until that side becomes golden-brown.

Remove to a plate or preferably a colander lined with paper napkins and allow the pooris to drain for a minute. Serve hot with any spicy Indian curry or kurma. I think they go especially well with potato subzi andchickpea curry.

Batata Bhaji

Holy Cow
Ingredients:

5 medium potatoes, boiled in their jackets and diced. ( don't peel the potato skin, most of the nutrients in the potato sit right under the skin so by peeling the potato you will turn this healthy veggie into a blob of tasty but starchy nothingness-- well, almost.)

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 green chillies, like serrano, minced 1 tbsp grated ginger

10-15 curry leaves, chopped

½ tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

¼ cup coriander leaves

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp canola oil

Heat the oil in a skillet.


Add the cumin seeds and asafetida. When the seeds sputter, add the onions and curry leaves and green chillies and saute until the onion turns transparent, about five minutes on medium heat. 

Add the ginger and turmeric and saute a few more seconds. Add the potatoes and stir them in to combine with the oil and spices.


Mash down the potatoes with a potato masher or a heavy ladle so some of the pieces break up but others remain mostly intact. You want the potatoes to start turning slightly golden and crusty at the bottom of the pan.

Add salt and lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with the coriander seeds or, if you like, some grated coconut.

Cold Avocado Soup with sweet corn and bacon

Joy The Baker

makes about 4 cups

adapted from Bon Appetit August 2011

For the Soup:

2 ripe Haas avocados

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 tablespoons sour cream, creme fraiche, or milk (optional if you’re vegan)

3/4 teaspoon salt (plus a bit more if you’re a salt freak like me )

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water

For the Topping:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 ears fresh corn, sliced from the cob

1/2  jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and diced (I used a fresh cayenne pepper)

4 slices cooked bacon, chopped (optional if you’re vegan)

small handful fresh parsley leaves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

To make the soup, place avocado flesh in a blender along with vegetable broth, lime juice, sour cream (if using), and salt.  Blend until the avocados are creamy.  Remove the center from your blender lid, and while blending, slowly add the water.  Soup will be done when smooth, with your desired consistency.  Feel free to add a touch more water if you prefer a thinner soup.  Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary.  Place in a container in the fridge while you make the topping.

To make the topping, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until translucent and browned, about 5 minutes.  Add corn and jalapeno and cook for 3 minutes more.  Add sliced bacon and parsley.  Cook until everything is warmed and just browned.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pile about 1/2 cup of warm topping into a bowl.  Pour cold soup around the topping.  Serve and enjoy.  Soup lasts up to three days in and airtight container in the fridge.  

Yummy Pancakes

2 cups all- purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoons salt

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoons vinegar

1 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 teaspoons of cinnamon.

First I add the milk and vinegar let set for a few seconds then I add all the other ingredients,

 except the flour, and whisk. When everything is mixed well, I stir in the flour. 

Pattypan (Flying Saucer Squash) Kootu

Ingredients:

2 medium pattypan squash, diced into very small cubes (about 1 cm)

3/4 cup tuvar dal (yellow split peas)

1 sprig curry leaves (optional)

1 tbsp mustard seeds

1 tsp canola or other vegetable oil

Salt to taste

For masala:

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp blackgram dal (udad dal)

1 tbsp chana dal (Bengalgram dal)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 cup shredded coconut

2-3 dry red chilies

1 tbsp black peppercorns

1 tsp canola or other vegetable oil

Pressure-cook the split yellow peas until mashably soft. (If you don't have a pressure cooker, use a saucepan and enough water to cover the lentils by about 2 inches. The lentils should take about 45 minutes to become mashably soft. Check often and stir to ensure that the water hasn't evaporated or the lentils will burn. Add more water if needed).

Fry masala ingredients in a teaspoon of oil. When the dals turn golden, remove to a blender and grind into a smooth paste along with coconut.

Heat the remaining teaspoon of oil and add mustard seeds and curry leaves, if using.

Add the pattypan squash and stir-fry for about five minutes or until it starts to get tender.

Add the ground masala and the cooked split peas and stir well.

Add more water if the kootu is too thick and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the flavors have blended together and the squash is very tender.

Add salt to taste.

Serve hot with rice and papads.

Ancho Lentil Tacos

by IsaChandra 

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups cooked lentils (from about 1 cup dried)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons hot sauce (preferably Cholula)

Spice mix:
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground ancho chile
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt

First combine all of the ingredients for the spice mix and set aside. Also, keep a cup of water within reach, you’ll need to add splashes as you cook.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee the onion and garlic in the oil with a pinch of salt for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Add spices and toss them for 30 seconds or so to toast.

Lower heat to medium, add lentils, a few splashes of water, tomato paste and hot sauce; use a spatula to mash them a bit as they cook, until they hold together. If your spatula isn’t strong enough to accomplish this, just use a fork. Do this for about 5 minutes, adding splashes of water as necessary if it appears dry. Taste for salt and seasoning; you may want to add more spices or hot sauce. And that’s it, time to serve!

Summer Squash Patties

Summer Squash Patties

4 green onions, chopped

4 T. Coconut oil

2 medium yellow summer squash; grated

2-4 medium red potatoes; grated

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup ground flax seeds mixed with 1-2 cups water

½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

other seasoning to taste (optional)

Saute green onions in 2 Tablespoons coconut oil over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes. Add grated potato and let cook about half way and then add summer squash. In medium sized clean bowl, add oats, flax mixture, salt and pepper and seasonings.  Mix well. Add squash mixture and blend with a fork.

In a clean frying pan or on griddle at medium heat, warm 2 Tablespoon coconut oil. Spoon mixture in and form patties. Let brown 3-4 minutes and turn.  These are tasty severed like a burger on a bun with all the fixin's we like to layer 2 or three depending on how thick they are.  They are also excellent by themselves with some ranch dressing and/or other favorite toppings!