Madhu Knits and Cooks – Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Trio of New Indian Dishes

I think I've been in an Indian food rut of late, having run through the handful of Indian vegetarian recipes I usually make a few times over the past couple of weeks. This newfound desire to try out some new recipes, particularly North Indian recipes, thankfully came at the same time as the closing sale at a local Borders (20% off the entire store!). I spent a good chunk of time one afternoon browsing the cookbook section, and settled on Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking and Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian.

When I had a friend over for dinner recently, I tried one new recipe from each of these cookbooks, as well as, for the first time. an childhood favorite — Spinach Rice — from Saranya Mandava's newer cookbook, Millennium Mixture.

Unfortunately, the results was a bit mixed. The first dish I made was Julie Sahni's Potatoes Smothered in Shallots (link is to a website that reproduces the recipe). I substituted new potatoes for the standard potatoes called for in the recipe, but other than that, followed the fairly simple recipe as is. In addition to potatoes and shallots, the recipe calls for only salt and pepper. I should have realized that that simplicity would mean an incredibly bland result (think plain potatoes with salt and pepper, and just a hit of shallots), but unfortunately I didn't and so missed the opportunity to make it more flavorful. Oh well. Flipping through the rest of Sahni's book, I think the other dishes will be equally as bland so I will probably just use the recipes as bases for new experiments.

The other two dishes turned out really well, and I am really happy I decided to pick up the Madhur Jaffrey compilation book, which has a ton of interesting-looking recipes. I tried her Green Beans with Cumin and Fennel recipe, particularly because I have never cooked with fennel seeds. I really enjoyed the multi-layered flavor they brought to the final dish — so much so, that that following week, I made the recipe again! To add an interesting starch to the meal, I cooked the Spinach Rice recipe from Millennium Mixture, which was an exact replica of one of my favorite childhood dishes (spinach rice with some plain yogurt was a complete, and satisfying, meal for me for many years). As the dish was simmering, the smells emanating from the kitchen actually reminded me of my childhood. Thankfully, I didn't mess up the result, and I'm definitely going to be adding both recipes to my regular cooking rotation!

July 25, 2010
Spur-of-the-Moment Pizza Dough Recipe from Giada

For years, I have consistently used the same pizza dough recipe, which requires at least an overnight (18 – 24 hour) rise in the fridge. Unfortunately, this means I must plan at least a day in advance if I want to make a homemade pizza. Although the flavor of this standard pizza dough recipe is excellent (one of the best I've ever had), I have really wanted the flexibility to make a customized, hot pizza the day I want to eat it.

So to the Internet I went — unfortunately I bypassed my cookbooks this time. I found an Epicurious.com recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis, which only requires a one hour rise. It calls for a full quarter-ounce packet of active dry yeast for one pizza dough ball instead of the one teaspoon for the two full pizza dough balls made with the original, overnight rise recipe I use. I tried this new recipe during a recent weekday evening, and was surprised at how easy and fast it was to make. I let the dough rise in a warm area for one hour, as called for by the recipe, and it seemed like it almost tripled in size instead of doubled. This didn't seem to have an effect on the result though.

I baked the crust at 550 degrees for approximately 4 – 5 minutes, before adding the sauce and toppings and baking for another 3 minutes until the cheese was melted and bubbly. The crust itself was relatively flavorful and had an almost cracker-like consistency. I may substitute bread flour and whole wheat flour for the all-purpose to experiment with flavor and texture of the crust, but look forward to using it further when I feel an immediate craving for pizza!

July 24, 2010
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting for Carlos! Colorful and Cool for a Celebration! (Apparently “C” is the Letter of the Day!)

I have never been particularly fond of carrot cakes. I actually have a natural aversion to eating carrot cake because they frequently include walnuts, to which I am very allergic. I recently had an excuse though to make a Madhu-friendly, nut-free carrot cake — my friend Carlos had a surprise birthday party thrown in his honor, and there is nothing he likes more than carrot cake (noting of course though that Carlos is an enthusiastic consumer of other MadhuKnitsandCooks.com products).

In making this carrot cake, I successfully stuck to my new-ish pledge of trying to use my cookbooks instead of the Internet for recipe and technique ideas. I used my Gourmet Cookbook, which had a recipe from Felix Papadakis, and the process and result could not have made me happier. The recipe was incredibly easy for a carrot cake novice and I only made a few ingredient changes — I omitted both the walnuts and the optional raisins, and used unsweetened shredded coconut instead of the recipe's sweetened flaked coconut. I also followed the directions pretty closely, though used two 8 by 8-inch square pans instead of two 9-inch round pans to adjust to what I had available. Using the 8-inch square pans required me to bake the cakes for a few minutes longer than what was called for by the recipe. Finally, I probably should have chilled the frosting for longer in the fridge (I had cooled it for only an hour or so after making it). It has been insanely hot in D.C. lately so the frosting at room temperature was a bit tricky to use, which it made it more difficult to frost the cake. But, all in all, it was a really simple (and quick) cake to bake and assemble.

At the surprise birthday party, I am pleased to say that the cake was not only a big hit with Carlos, the birthday celebrator:

But also his fiancee, and the many other friends they had in attendance. While I have avoided carrot cakes pretty zealously in the past, this is a recipe I will not shy away from making in the future, even for non-carrot cake enthusiasts!

July 20, 2010
Smooth and Spicy Cinnamon Ice Cream

To cap off a multi-course Indian meal I cooked for some guests last Thursday night, I decided to try making a new ice cream flavor. Unfortunately, I did not follow my recent rule of trying recipes in my cookbooks and cooking magazines, and instead went straight to the Internet to try to find something new. I was hoping for something Indian-inspired like mango, but couldn't find a recipe that wouldn't require a ripe mango (which given that I was doing this search the morning of my dinner might have been too difficult to procure). So I continued searching for something new — and to clarify, that means a first-time, homemade recipe for me, not the first time I would try that flavor of ice cream. Most of what I could find on Epicurious.com though required an instant thermometer, which I don't have, so I went to Allrecipes.com where I thought the recipes would be a little less precise. Thankfully, I was able to quickly find a recipe that I thought would work — the recipe was a cinnamon flavored ice cream that I thought would have the right flavor and feel to cap off my Indian dinner.

True to my initial impression, the recipe was fairly easy to make though I admit that I overcooked the custard a bit as I was trying to multi-task and wash the dishes while it came to a simmer. I was able to separate the more thick/cooked parts from the majority of the custard though, and the result was incredibly smooth and really flavorful — almost spicy given the amount of cinnamon called for in the recipe. The contrast between the texture and flavor was pretty distinct, and it was not only a big hit at the conclusion of my dinner, but also when I served some of the leftovers on the 4th of July.

I think my next ice cream for an Indian dinner will be grinding up some cardamom for a cardamom-spiced ice cream — I had the best cardamom gelato last night, and it definitely made me kick myself for not thinking of that last week!

July 6, 2010
Rivolo Scarf for My Aunt

For two consecutive Maryland Sheep and Wool Festivals, I've been totally obsessed with the Brooks Farm vendor booth. In fact, at this year's festival, my only purchases were at the Brooks Farm booth. I finally put to use a skein of Solo Silk yarn, a 50% silk/50% wool blend, that I picked up at last year's festival for a scarf I just completely for my aunt. I chose this nice Rivolo pattern that I found on Ravelry, and decided to scale it down a bit from five repeats to three to make a skinnier, more delicate short scarf (my aunt lives in California, so doesn't need a bulky scarf for warmth!). The pattern and yarn worked really well together — the repeats in the pattern were fairly easy to remember and work, and the yarn, after blocking, draped and displayed the pattern beautifully. Details about the project follow the picture of the completed scarf.

Chinna Pedhi's Scarf Details

Pattern: Rivolo by Ann Hanson, modified by dropping two of the repeats for a total of three panels instead of five

Yarn: Approx. 60% of one skein of Brooks Farm Solo Silk in a multi-hued maroon color. Solo Silk skeins are 400 yards/4 oz.

Needle: Size 6 metal circular

Post-Blocking Measurements: 5 inches wide by 55 inches long. The scarf stretched about 8 inches via blocking.

***

And a bonus photo to showcase the drape and pattern of the scarf!

July 5, 2010
Potato Vindaloo…A First (Maybe Last?) Try
I bought some pre-combined vindaloo spice powder at Kalustyan's in New York a few months back, but have been a little stumped about how best to use it in my vegetarian cooking. I finally decided that I can't make the perfect the enemy of the good, and endeavored to use the spices with some russet potatoes. The end result was just ok — it was a little bland for my tastes (others who are new to Indian cooking will probably find it to have a good level of flavor) and I don't think the potatoes really absorbed the full flavor of the spices. I think maybe I need to use a porous vegetable that will break down during cooking and better absorb the flavor of the powder, and to make it more of a curry than a dry dish like the potato vindaloo had turned out. But for those who like potatoes and want a new variation on a potato dish, the recipe I put together is below the picture:

Recipe
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1/2 inch segments
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 3 dried red chili peppers (available at Indian grocery stores)
- 4 tbsps chopped onion
- 1 heaping tbsp vindaloo powder
- 1 – 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup water
Directions
- Heat vegetable oil on medium to high heat, and when heated, add garlic, dried red chili peppers and vindaloo powder
- After one minute, or after garlic becomes fragrant, add the onion and stir, cooking for another 3 minutes
- Add the potato, and stir to coat the potatoes with the spice mixture
- After coated, add 1/4 cup of water and cover the pan to cook the potatoes.
- Stir periodically and cook until potatoes are tender and cooked throughout
July 2, 2010
Vegetarian Times’ Grilled Hearts of Romaine with Balsamic-Shallot Vinaigrette

As regular readers of MadhuKnitsandCooks.com know, I have been making a concerted effort to use more of my cooking magazines, especially my stacks of the Vegetarian Times. Generally, this has been meant flipping through past issues to get meal ideas, but this past month, I made a big advancement in that I used the current issue of the Vegetarian Times!

I tried the Grilled Hearts of Romaine with Balsamic-Shallot Vinaigrette recipe in the May/June 2010 issue, which unfortunately isn't available online as well. Instead of grilling the lettuce on a stove-top grill pan or an outdoor grill, I ended up charring the lettuce on a cast-iron skillet. The hearts of romaine weren't fully intact after I had cleaned them, so the leaves were a little more evenly cooked than I imagine they would be than if they were still together. I also used plain balsamic instead of the prepared vinaigrette called for in the recipe, but it turned out incredibly well. The lettuce was really flavorful after charring, and shallots and balsamic worked really well together so that the dish was almost spicy. I definitely look forward to making it again, especially when I next have company over (perhaps this salad and some sort of "upscale" pizza would be a good combination!).

July 2, 2010
Awesomely Light and Soft Lime Cookies

For a Memorial Day barbecue, I wanted to make a new dessert that wouldn't require me to head to the grocery store. As I was looking through the fridge, primarily to see if I had any eggs and butter, and I noticed two limes sitting on one of the door shelves. I thought to myself — I make and see baked goods with lemon (lemon bars, lemon ricotta cookies) all the time, why not use limes? And I had just purchased my first microplane the day before, so I think citrus and zesting were on my mind. Unlike my general inclination to look for recipes on the internet as a first resort, I actually did try to look in some of my magazines for a lime-flavored recipe that wouldn't use more than 2 limes. Unfortunately though, I couldn't find anything in at least the handful that I flipped through, so defaulted back to the internet to find something. I went back and forth on a few different recipes on Allrecipes.com, and ended up selecting the linked recipe for Spring Lime Tea Cookies because it met my requirement of using ingredients I had available at home, came up with the perfect amount of cookies for this event (24), and seemed relatively straightforward and quick.

True to my initial impression, this recipe was incredibly easy and fast to make (especially with a microplane, which I highly recommend you purchase), and the cookies were really, really tasty and super-light (almost had the consistency of the lemon ricotta cookie I like so much). I ended up omitting the glaze because it made the cookies have way too much lime and sugar flavor, and detracted from how airy and pop-able these cookies are. Needless to say, these were a big hit at the party, despite folks asking "wait, these are LIME cookies??" before trying them 🙂

June 20, 2010
Experimentation with Roux Continues with Dark Chocolate Souffles

The Vegetarian Times continues to deliver with big hits. Last weekend, I made the Dark Chocolate Souffles in the "roux how-to" section of the March 2010 issue, and each souffle is only 280 calories despite tasting like it was easily double that amount! The souffles were relatively easy to make, and were quite rich and creamy when completed (though I think I slightly underbaked them, so they were a little too creamy compared to other souffles).

I halved the recipe to make 4 souffles instead of 8, and in the process, I made a few unintended alterations to the recipe. I ended up using the full 1/2 cup of sugar instead of halving it for the recipe, and I also used 2 tbsps of cocoa powder instead of reducing the amount from 3 tbsps to 1.5 tbsps. I also baked the souffles for approximately 6 minutes, but would probably go up to 8 the next time I make the recipe.

While not as fluffy as the Mark Bittman easy Chocolate Souffle recipe, the flavor of these souffles is really intense and I think an excellent way to properly finish a good meal. Definitely give this recipe a try, even if its your first souffle!

May 31, 2010
2010 Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

The first weekend in May has become one of my most eagerly anticipated weekends of the year — once it passes, I immediately start making plans for the following year. You may be asking yourself what could be so exciting — the annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival of course!

This year's Festival was particularly exciting because in addition to Mike (has now attended 3 Festivals) and Andy (2 Festivals in addition to trips to the NY and CT events, and the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Festival), my friend Kirsten came to town from Chicago for the occasion (we've gone to Stitches Midwest together). The weather was projected to be a steamy 93 degrees, so we decided to left DC fairly early on Saturday to get there before the sun could get really intense and before a good chunk of the crowds arrived.

While that turned out to the right call, the heat and sun were still pretty intense in the morning when we arrived, so instead of attending events like the sheep dog trials, making several rounds to the various food stands and doing a lot of wandering through the vendor areas, we tried to focus on basics and make sure we visited all of the vendor booths once and got the key food offerings (for me, the food is less important because I don't eat meat and these Festivals are known for their innovative and expansive lamb options). This strategy turned out to be good for a number of reasons — in addition to ensuring we didn't get too wiped out in the sun, it also limited my yarn purchases to a fairly shocking three skeins — all from Brooks Farm, a Texas-based company where I have purchased some lovely yarn from in years past. I purchased a skein of Acero in a maroon shade, another Acero in a beautiful emerald, and a Solo Silk in a light blue. While I don't know what I'll do with the Acero skeins (though I was thinking maybe socks?), I think I'm going to make a modified Swinging Summer Shell, which was on display at the Brooks booth, with the blue Solo Silk skein — I just hope I purchased enough though (always the concern of knitters!)!

And while this clearly goes without saying, I am very much looking forward to next year's Festival!

May 18, 2010