Madhu Knits and Cooks

"Tandoori" Tofu

I don't really eat tofu that often anymore.  Tofu used to be a pretty large part of my homecooking, but I've really tried to take heed of the advice by Michael Pollan and others that we focus more on vegetables, beans and whole grains given how much soy we already consume through processed foods.  I recently though came across this "Tandoori Tofu" recipe by EatingWell.com, and thought it would be a great way to try a new, more interesting way to prepare tofu than the standard stir-fry.  The dish turned out wonderfully well -- nicely spiced, good consistency and diversity of flavors in each bite (the key was the lime juice!).  I look forward to making it every few months -- with of course, the interim periods focused on plants!  The modifications I made to the recipe follow the picture of the tandoori tofu over rice.

I was only cooking for one, so I used only one block of tofu in the recipe (instead of two) and retained the spice mixture as is.  I thought the recipe was probably geared to those who are not used to Indian cuisine, and I didn't want to end up with a bland dish.  I did not prepare the yogurt garnish, and substituted 1 tablespoon of prepared ginger-garlic paste instead of the 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.  

I thought that the resulting dish was not overly spiced if you are used to Indian flavors -- if you are somewhat new to Indian food, or otherwise easily overpowered by spices, I would recommend following the original recipe as is.  

Finally, I also just prepared the dish in a saute pan over the stovetop instead of a grill.  I cut the tofu into smaller pieces than what was called for in the recipe because I knew that bypassing the grill would extend the cooking time of the dish.  I cooked the tofu in the saute pan until the pieces were very lightly browned on each side -- approximately 10 minutes.

Churchmouse Classics Welted Fingerless Gloves

This past summer, I luckily stumbled upon Churchmouse Yarns and Teas in Bainbridge Island, WA.  I purchased one of their popular yarn designs, Welted Fingerless Gloves, as well as yarn and buttons to complete the project.  While I was hoping to complete the gloves before fall approached, as is my way, I did not complete them until well into winter (last week).  

I am so happy I picked up this pattern and yarn -- the gloves are wonderful.  They are incredibly soft, fit like a glove (ha!), and are really cute!  Just days after first trying them on, I am already worried that I might wear them down by the end of this already diminishing winter.  Project details follow the picture.

Madhu's Welted Fingerless Gloves

Pattern:  Churchmouse Classics Welted Fingerless Gloves.  Although the one-size pattern calls for casting on 36 stitches, based on my gauge and thinner hands, I cast on only 29 stitches.

Yarn:  Rowan Classic Yarns Baby Alpaca DK in Chevlot (#207), approx. 2/3 skein used.  

Needles:  Two size 2 circulars and two size 4 circulars.

Post-Blocking Measurements:  7 1/2 inches long, 5 1/2 inches around the hand, and 6 inches around bottom cuff.  

Sri Lankan Sweet Potatoes with Cardamom and Chiles

Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian continues its reign in my kitchen as the ultimate go-to cookbook.  It really does seem like no matter what vegetable, grain or protein (vegetarian protein of course!) I have, I'll be able to find something delicious to make from this cookbook, without having to make another run to the grocery store.  My latest recipe adventure from the Jaffrey book is Cheryl Rathkopf's Sri Lankan Sweet Potatoes with Cardamon and Chiles (Bathala Theldala).  

I initially purchased the sweet potatoes with the intention of making a sweet potato and leek casserole from a recent Vegetarian Times, but the local Whole Foods was out of leeks!  I am glad that I decided to keep the sweet potatoes in my cart though because Rathkopf's recipe produced an AMAZING result.  The dish was spicy, and the onions, curry leaves, cinnamon and cardamom gave the dish other interesting flavors.  I not only ate this dish for dinner the night that I made it, but also for breakfast, a snack and dinner the following day (and lunch the day after that).  I did not make any serious modifications to the recipe, but I did reduce the amount of onions and curry leaves used (2 onions, and maybe 10 fresh curry leaves) because I thought my two sweet potatoes (which were of the white variety) were smaller than the "very large" ones called for in the recipe.  I loved the dish so much that I bought sweet potatoes again this past weekend to make it again this week!  Another bonus is that this recipe could not be easier to make, so I definitely recommend (again) that readers check out World Vegetarian.

Wall Street Journal Weekend Recipes -- Not Just for Show! Tasty Braised Mustard Greens with Ginger, Cilantro and Rice

The Wall Street Journal weekend edition recently started an "Off Duty" section, and among its features are weekly food and drink articles.  The section generally seems to have a main article devoted to discussion of a certain type of food followed by several related recipes.  The January 15 - 16 Off Duty section led with "A Guide to Loving Winter Greens", which definitely peaked my interest because of my recent attempts to integrate more "hearty" greens (e.g., kale and collard greens) into my recipe rotation.  While in weeks past I have ripped out the recipes from the weekend WSJ for my recipe folder and then promptly forgotten about them, I actually took this rip-out with me to the grocery store.  I settled on purchasing mustard greens to make the Mustard Greens Braised with Ginger, Cilantro and Rice dish.  

I LOVED this dish -- it was hearty with even just a small portion satisfying my appetite, incredibly healthy, and the flavors were quite rich.  I definitely think I will make it again, especially as I found that halving the amount of ingredients not only made it manageable for a one-to-two person meal, but also reduced the cooking time to only 30 minutes, making it a perfect weeknight main course.  I think I now finally have an incentive to dust off those previous WSJ recipe clippings and give them a try as well!

 

An Easy Chole (Indian Chickpea) Recipe

Its funny to suddenly crave a food that you haven't really been that fond of in the past.  That recently happened to me when I started thinking about chole, an Indian chickpea dish.  Although I have eaten plenty of chole in the past, I don't think its ever really counted as one of my favorites.  I decided to satisfy this newfound desire by buying a can of chickpeas at the supermarket (instead of paying $10 for this dish as nearby restaurants!), and looking around my apartment and the Internet for recipes.  I couldn't find anything that really would work with the ingredients in my house, so I decided to improvise a bit based on my of my latest experiments with North Indian cooking. 

The recipe I came up with was definitely what I was looking for -- spicy and substantive.  And because I enjoyed the leftovers so much, I decided to make the recipe again just week or two after the first attempt.  I definitely encourage to try this recipe, though some may need to down (or up) the spice based on preference.

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas, very lightly washed and partially drained
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. prepared ginger garlic paste (or mince equal parts ginger and garlic to reach this amount)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 thai green chili peppers (or substitute other hot peppers), coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 medium-sized tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• salt
• vegetable oil

Directions

• Heat in a medium pot 1 - 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and add cumin and coriander, stirring lightly and cooking until fragrant (maybe 30 seconds - 1 minute).
• Add ginger garlic paste, chopped onion and hot peppers and saute for 2 - 3 minutes until the onion is translucent.
• Stir in the tomatoes, turmeric and garam masala, and cook the mixture until the tomatoes reduce in volume and break down (3 - 4 minutes)
• Stir in chickpeas, with some of the water from the washing, and 1/2 tsp. salt.  Coat the chickpeas with the onion, tomato and spice mixture.
• Cover, and stir periodically.  Add water if necessary to ensure the mixture isn't sticking to the pot.  Cook for 20 minutes or until chickpeas are hot and absorb the flavors of the spice mixture.  Finish by adding the chili powder and salt to taste.

Two Multicolored Scarves Knit Lengthwise

Almost two months ago, I stopped by a local craft fair and found some truly wonderful and creative items, from jewelry to greeting cards to soaps.  One table in particular featured yarn, so of course, I was immediately drawn to it.  I ended up purchasing gorgeous two scarf kits from preciousmettle.  The scarfs were made up of several different types of yarn from complementary colorways.  The cut of the different yarn types allowed for knitting two rows of each yarn color for a lengthwise knit scarf.  While I was knitting the scarves, I ended up further customizing them by adding in a few more types of yarn from my stash.  I was incredibly pleased with the result, as were the ultimate recipients!  I definitely recommend folks check out the preciousmettle shop on Etsy to view her products.

Project details follow the pictures of the blocked scarves.

Spectrum Scarves

Pattern:  Garter stitch, knit lengthwise with directions from the kit

Yarn:  Assorted, from preciousmettle kit, as well as supplements from my stash

Needles:  One size 13 circular

Post-Blocking Measurements:  Orange scarf - 57 inches long and 4 inches wide.  Pink - 55 inches long and 4 inches wide.

And here is one of the scarves being modeled by the recipient who now thinks she is a movie star!