Deconstructed Gobi Paratha

One of the quirkiest statements I've heard my dad make (& he had his fair share of quirky but true observations about life that never failed to elicit a chuckle or two) was that when he was old and had lost his teeth, he hoped that his fondness for murrukku (a crunchy deep fried savory South Indian snack) was satiated enough  that he wouldn't have to ask anyone to grind up the murrukku in a coffee grinder  to feed him. Its odd that my recipe for this week could be interpreted as exactly that by those who are familiar with the dish in its original form and its deconstruction.

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Its MOGO time again – Roasted Carrot/golden beet Soup with Harissa & a smoky refried bean root burger.

(MOGO: Abbr.for ‘Make One Get One’)

I’m not really all that much into making soups, unless its for a relaxed winter afternoon, curled up in front of the idiot box, watching a mindless movie. It just seems too much work for something that gets slurped up with the speed of a cup of coffee. The bonus that many soups offer is that the same set of veggies used can be literally split up into two dishes, and hence zero waste in terms of ingredients & flavors and its quite a bit of fun to play around with seasonings to get two completely unrelated flavor profiles from a single source.
I’ve shied away from carrots as a soup ingredient long enough, and in the process missed out on that earthy incomparable flavor  touched with a dollop of caramelized sweetness, that somehow annoys me unless I completely smother it with spices. The trick is to balance the tastes to get that incomparable sweet & spicy earthiness that  makes this weeks recipe(s) a complete keeper!

The soup is a  roasted carrot & golden beet soup (with chunks of fresh ginger thrown into the roasting mix). the spicing ingredient is the North African spice blend Harissa (which I use in the powdered form rather than the paste.  Kalustyan’s in New York City, sells a variety of different brands, both in the paste & powder form)

Harissa is one of the most versatile spice blends you can stock in your pantry. This particular variety, I’ve even added some salt & sesame oil  to pair it beautifully with  South Indian Dosa. It makes for a delightful variation of the traditional ‘Milaga podi’ a.k.a ‘gunpowder’.

Roasted Carrots & Golden Beet soup (serves 4)

You need:

4 Large Carrots
2 medium sized golden beets
12-15 cherry or grape tomatoes
2 large chunk (~ 2 inch cubes ) Fresh Ginger
a generous pinch of freshly cracked peppercorn
3 tablespoon Olive oil
3 cups water or vegetable stock.
1-1.5 teaspoon Harissa spice blend
1/4 cup Creme fraiche or sour cream or Greek Yogurt

Preheat the Oven to 400 F. Line a large baking tray with aluminum foil.

Wash, peel & cut the carrots, golden beets & Ginger into 1 inch cubes. add to a mixing bowl along with the grape tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.. Season with Salt & freshly cracked pepper.

Add the vegetables in a single layer on the baking tray and roast for about 25-30 minutes in the oven, until the vegetables turn a light golden brown on the outside and yield when pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Add the roasted veggies into a food processor & blend. Drizzle about 2 cups of water / stock while the mix is being pureed. the final consistency should be similar to that of crushed tomatoes  from a can.

Sieve the puree to extract the soup part of this recipe. Reserve the part that remains in the strainer (should yield about 1 cup). (that’s the main ingredient in the ‘GO’ part of this “MOGO’ recipe)

Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan. when the oil is warm, (NOT hot, you do not want to burn up the spice) Add the Harissa powder & allow the flavors to bloom in the oil.

Add the strained soup to the saucepan & simmer on a low-medium heat. Add the last cup of water/stock as per your preference of thickness.  Taste and adjust for seasonings. Serve warm with a dollop of Creme Fraiche ( sour cream/Greek yogurt) and a chunk of warm crusty french bread.

As for the solid part of the soup, the stuff that remains in the strainer, it still has a LOT of great roasted flavor and it would be a travesty to toss this in the garbage. There is no specific spicing that would restrict its usage and hence, one could technically endow a flavors from a completely different cuisine. I used up this batch to make some delicious burger patties that would be perfect between a sliced, toasted kaiser roll along with slices of tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce with a slather of spiced Mayo.

Roasted veggies & refried bean burger  patties (makes about 6 medium sized patties)

You need:

1 cup of the pureed root vegetables left over from straining the soup
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
3/4 – 1 cup fat free refried beans.
1/2- 1 teaspoon Ancho chile powder (for that characteristic smokiness)
2 tablespoons finely chopped Cilantro (which I did not add in the photographed version)
Oil for pan-frying

Combine the refried beans and  half cup of Panko breadcrumbs along with the Ancho Chile powder. Mix well enough for the bread crumbs to absorb the moisture from the refried beans.

Add the strained veggies and the cilantro to the mix and fold to combine evenly. Taste and adjust for salt (the refried beans already has a lot of salt, so you may want to adjust for it).

Divide the mixture into six equal parts. Shape each one into a flattened patty.

Heat a non stick skillet and add about 2 teaspoons of oil. When it heats up & begins shimmering, swirl to coat the pan evenly. Gently place two patties and pan fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes. Resist any temptation to flip the patty over more than is necessary. you want the proteins from the beans to coagulate and form a nice crisp skin before you turn it over. Brush the top side liberally with oil before flipping over and cooking the other side (~2-3 minutes). Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels.

Serve between a toasted Kaiser roll with sliced tomatoes, cucumber & lettuce with your choice of condiments. Alternatively you may simply serve this alongside some spicy Sriracha flavored mayo as a dip.

Bon Appetit:

Coming up next week: A quantitative recipe with digital measurements & my very first giveaway from OXO.

Pumpkin cravings

 

Don’t you just love the fact that once the calender gets to September/ October, a flurry of festivals begin cropping up all over the world? In India, its Navratri, followed by Diwali, Kartigai, a South Indian festival that makes its appearance anywhere from 15 days to a month & a half after Diwali coinciding with the full moon in the Indian month of Karthik, I guess it commemorates the harvest moon.

Others that come to mind, The Moon Festival celebrated in the Far East,  Halloween , Guy Fawkes day, .. Oh boy, the list could potentially go on and on. 

 I’m not entirely sure, but it may be due to the colder months & shorter days that mankind found ways of socially celebrating events to keep from the depressive nature of this part of the year.

    Back to my own little sphere of a comfort zone, the vegetable I’ve most commonly come to associate with Fall is the big fat Pumpkin. There’s a whole Bubba’s list of what one could create with this thick skinned fruit, but one that really caught my attention & got me going was this post by D K from the site Chefinyou.  rather a tutorial on how to make pumpkin puree. I was freshly back reeling from an awesome book signing session with Iron Chef Bobby Flay

and one of the samples served was a divine pumpkin soup.

That was it, I just HAD to try roasting an entire pumpkin at home. Never mind what I would make out of it.. I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

So off I went, to my neighboring farm, 

& picked out a suitable candidate

Came home, cut & quartered ol’ Jack,

 

removed the innards, 

& popped the pieces into the oven at 400 F for about 45 minutes.

& Voila!, An indescribably delicious flesh, I could have finished off with a teaspoon, (I almost did). Roasted pumpkin has the aroma of fresh grilled corn with a texture thats out of this world..no salt or pepper needed, at most, a spritz of lime.

Rest assured I would not be up writing this if it were simply a post on roasted pumpkin, This weeks recipe is a Roasted pumpkin, coconut & sesame bisque, inspired by a traditional South Indian pumpkin stew known as ‘Thalagam’. Thalagam is served as an offering for Lord Shiva during the festival of thiruvadirai, celebrated in Late December/ January. Its usually paired with jaggery sweetened rice grits known as kali. The combination of redolent nutty spiciness & the earthy sweetness of the unrefined jaggery, the combination is magical. Its worth the prayers! 

After brainstorming & clarifying the family recipe with my cousin Uma in Ohio, comes this warming & comforting soup.

Roasted pumpkin, coconut & sesame bisque (serves 2-3)

Coconut Sesame Paste:

1/2 cup fresh frozen grated coconut

1 tablespoon Split dehusked Urad Dal

1 tablespoon split garbanzo beans (chana dal)

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1-2 dried arbol chile

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 teaspoon plain uncooked rice grains
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2 cups unsweetened pumpkin puree from a roasted pumpkin
1/2-1 teaspoon tamarind extract
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1-2 cup water
Salt to taste
Dollops of creme Fraiche or sour cream
1 tablespoon ghee
1 sprig curry leaves

To obtain the pumpkin puree, cut wedges of pumpkin removing the seeds & the central ‘webbing’ , brush with olive oil & bake in a 400 F oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hr. Allow to cool & scoop out the required amount (2 cups) of pumpkin. 

• In a skillet on low heat, toast the coconut till it turns a reddish brown. Set aside.
  
  
• 

   

• Using the same pan, dry roast all the lentils, rice & the fenugreek till they turn a light brown color, add these to the coconut & repeat the process for the sesame & arbol chiles (cut the chiles into pieces to facilitate browning). Toast the sesame till the seeds begin popping.
  

• Combine all the ingredients together and grind to a smooth paste using as little water as possible. Set aside 

• In a crock pot, combine the pumpkin puree, tamarind extract, turmeric, salt and water and cook on medium heat till the flavors combine (~ 15 min)
  
• Add the sesame & coconut spice blend to the pumpkin mix and simmer on a low heat for about 15 minutes, adding extra water if the mix is too thick. The predominating aroma will be that of the toasted sesame.
• Remove from heat, allow to cool. Process in a blender till smooth & strain (the toasted dals & coconut will otherwise add a gritty component to the texture.). Simmer on low heat to maintain the level of warmth you prefer.

• Heat the ghee on low heat, add the curry leaves and allow to fry till they’re crisp (but still retain their green color) 

• Serve warm with a dollop of Creme Fraiche or sour cream and garnished with the crisp curry leaves. 

& remember ol’ Jack’s Innards???? well thats an ‘elephant head’ (I’ll explain then) recipe for another day!!

‘Anai thalai’ (elephants head) chutney!

 Bon Appetit!

Entering this dish for Edible Entertainments ‘Healthy cooking challenge’ .

Soup and a salad?… or Soup ON a salad?

Have you ever been through those moments where all you want to do is put your feet up, with a nice cup of tea, and a chick flick (or if you’re Indian, a nice masala Bollywood offering?), & deeep within your brain runs an exquisitely choreographed simulation of everything falling into place, “The refrigerator automatically ridding itself of expired tins of half used refried beans & crushed tomato (the ones that were just waiting to be used up in a rajma the very next day… except that the next day was a fortnight ago), the kids putting away their books and toys, & happily playing within the deck without running off towards the road or screaming “MOMMIEE, Gubbi’s eating the dandelions!!..“

 Screech back to reality.. the house is as chaotic as ever, the tea has gone cold, &  yes, I have to risk a limb (or at least a finger) trying to pry the remains of a crushed yellow weed blossom out of the 2 yr old. Its only later that I realise that dandelion blossoms make for a great ingredient for desi Bhajia, If you don’t believe me, take a look at this fabulous offering from a food52 member. But that’s for another day!

 Its on days like these that your mind & heart scream for something simple & down to earth with whatever you have in the fridge. And short of someone making this for you while you indulge in your chai & cinema, there are few things more filling & comforting than a simple soup & a salad combo. (probably why Panera bread has cashed in on this genre of quick lunches), something simple and as close to Mother Earth.. I’m talking root vegetables..Carrots…

Carrots are probably one of the few vegetables that are incorporated equally well into a whole range of dishes. From decadent desserts like carrot cake & halwa all the way to spicy Indian pickles. You really don’t need much to dress this vegetable up. It comes with inbuilt bright colors & flavors. Maybe just a complementing herb a dash of black pepper and a pinch of salt.
There are nearly countless recipes for carrot soup and here are a couple of tested & validated ones :

A recipe from epicurious.com: A recipe relying on garlic & cloves to support the earthy root flavor of Carrot;
 A prizewinning recipe from Food52.com and  this recipe from thestonesoup.com using baby carrots, both using exactly five ingredients and,
An exotic healthy & low calorie offering (Yes, these terms can & do go together!!)  from  chefinyou.com

I’ve been toying with the idea of ordering Monica Bhide’s book ‘Modern spice’ ever since I dashed off a request to use an image from her page for my blog.  Poring through the books table of contents in the Amazon.com page, keeping a mental note of the proportion of vegetarian offerings in the book, something that struck me was that she has a very fresh approach to Indian food. Her inertial frame of reference from which she views standard Indian fare is very Americanized and it lends the cuisine an aura of light glamor, the kind one associates with exotic springtime brunch parties ,  rather than a stuffy sit down tuxedo / evening dress dinner appointment. In the interest of full disclosure, the book is till in my ‘cart’ at amazon.com waiting to be dispatched along with the mandatory purchases of baby diapers, soaps, creams & wipes. (I’m done with ordering baby food, the two year old eats regular, standard home cooked Indian food. And ice cubes.. And the occasional dandelion.

I followed the recipe from Mark Lipinski’s blog. with a few tweaks of my own. The paneer croutons were cubed really tiny, about an eight of the size of a regular cube, This helped in flash frying them on a non-stick skillet with minimal oil, just tossed them around till they turned golden brown. I also tossed in a geriatric parsnip that had been patiently biding its time in my crisper drawer. And lastly, garnished with a few crumbs of greek yogurt that had been strained.

Curried Soup of Carrot, Bell Pepper and Ginger with pan-fried paneer
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup paneer, cut into crouton size -small cubes
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium leeks, peeled and coarsely chopped (white and light green parts only)
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
1 old parsnip
1 (orange colored) bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons minced ginger root
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon ground coriander
5 cups vegetable stock (used plain water, not a fan of pre prepared, store bought stock)
1 cup light cream
1 teaspoon salt or to taste, if desired
Fresh cilantro to garnish
1. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok or large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the paneer and fry for 6-8 minutes until lightly browned. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Remove paneer with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
2. Melt the butter in a medium (3-quart) saucepan on medium heat. Add the leeks and cook for about 6-7 minutes or until translucent.
3. Add the carrots, bell pepper and ginger and cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the carrots begin to soften.
4. Add the turmeric, cayenne, coriander and mix well. Cook for another minute.
5. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender.

6. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
7. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender.
8. Stir in the cream, salt and pepper
9. Serve warm topped with the paneer.

 Of course, You really didn’t think I wouldn’t attempt to ‘panfusine’ the soup did you?

 I’ve been a big fan of working with agar. its vegetarian, has no odor or flavor by itself, and best of all it does not need to be served icy cold like gelatin does. It holds up shape very well without too much jiggle as jelly (or jello) does. When I came across this recipe for a savory carrot pannacotta , all that remained was to find a suitable recipe to use agar with.  If Monica Bhide ever does chance upon this blog, I’d like to hope that this innovation brings a teensy weensy smile rather than a frown!

For the panfusine version you need: (per 8 oz cup of soup)

2 tablespoons unflavored, colorless agar flakes (the long strings from Asian stores, cut into 1/2 inch pieces),
1/3 cup of water (or stock)

Boil the agar flakes till completely dissolved.
Strain the liquid into the soup, stir well.
Pour into silicone molds (silicone baking cups work just as well) or small ramekins. At this point you may drop 8-10 of the deep fried Paneer morsels into the soup. They stay suspended within and provide a lovely textural contrast.
Allow to set in the refrigerator.
To serve, slide a thin blade spatula between the soup and the ramekin, dislodge the soup & set gently on a plate. Serve immediately with a salad of your choice.

Agar over time tends to leach out the water its dissolved in. I’ve yet to figure out a strategy for a long term setting using the ingredient. If this happens, Simply drop the soup into a pan & heat up gently to serve in the regular manner. The agar does not impart any taste or texture to the soup.

Bon appetit!

ChefinYou, this one’s for you! -Cranberry Rasam

Cranberry Rasam:
    Quick post.. ( If only I could get motivated so easily all the time). D from the blog Chefinyou had posted a query about what was to be done when you had excessive cranberries stuck in the freezer, Pat came my over enthu response: Cranberry Rasam.. ( I’d just whipped up some 2 days ago & the broth is a favorite of my 20 month old, so its become a staple)…since I had regurgitated the recipe w/o much effort, second thought s crept in & I decided to validate it since I had 1/2 a bag of frozen cranberries sitting in  the freezer:

For this you need:

1/3rd cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 tbsp grated orange or tangerine rind
2 tsp Rasam powder
A pinch each of turmeric & asafetida
Salt to taste
3 cups water
4-5 curry leaves torn,
1 green chilli partially slit vertically
Cilantro for garnishing

Tempering:
1 tsp ghee
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

 In a microwave safe bowl combine cranberries and 1/2 a cup of water and cook for 2 minutes. Mash the berries & strain the pulp. Set aside (the seeds may be discarded)

Heat the remaining water, adding the Rasam powder, turmeric, salt & asafetida. Add the cranberry pulp, curry leaves and green chilli & bring to a boil until the raw smell of the Rasam powder disappears. Add the grated rind, simmer for 5 minutes. Heat the ghee till smoking in a separate pan, add the Cumin. When the seeds sputter, pour over the Rasam.  Transfer into a serving dish, garnish with cilantro & serve as a broth or paired with steamed rice.
Bon appetit!