Madhu Knits and Cooks

Will I Have This Cookbook Forever? Madhur Jaffrey Instant Pot Gingery Tomato Chickpeas with Nigella Seeds

Nigella seeds are underutilized in our kitchen.  Originally purchased for a reason I don't remember, I seem to have used them only twice - for a Balaboosta crispy kale recipe and nan-e barbari. 

Yum, I should make nan-e barbari again.  

Moving to the present, with the Madhur Jaffrey Instantly Indian Cookbook trapped in my home due to our warranted public library shutdown, I had the opportunity to try her Chickpeas in a Gingery Tomato Sauce.  Without a doubt, the dish's best feature was the fragrant nigella seeds.  But the dish could have easily stood without them - that's how delicious this gingery, lightly acidic and velvety dish tasted.

Unlike most Instant Pot recipes, this was laborious in that Jaffrey calls for removing the chickpea skins before cooking them in the sauce.  I may omit this step the next time I make this dish.  I will also follow my standard soaked chickpeas Instant Pot cooking time - 12 minutes - instead of her 3 because the chickpeas were incredibly undercooked at 3 minutes.  

The other three modifications I made to the recipe were to 1) cook only 1/2 cup of chickpeas, which resulted in more than enough for 2 - 3 meals; 2) use leftover tomato pizza sauce for the ~1/3 cup of pureed tomatoes called for; 3) substitute lime juice for lemon because it's what I had at home.  Those recipes aren't necessary for future versions, but they worked well which points to the versatility of this recipe.

Two Madhur Jaffrey Instantly Indian Dishes - Muslim-Style Masoor Dal and South Indian-Style Green Beans

Not being able to return library books has meant that I've started to experiment with recipes I wouldn't otherwise try from Madhur Jaffrey's Instantly Indian Instant Pot Cookbook.  Both of the these recipes - Red Lentils Cooked in a Muslim Style and Green Beans Stir-Fried in a South Indian Style - seemed too simple to use a formal cookbook, but I would make them again.

I halved the Musalmani Masoor ingredients, and was able to quickly cook the dal in the Instant Pot while separately sautéing the onion, garlic and dried red chiles to add to the final, lightly mashed cooked dal.

The dal was lightly fragrant from the onion, chile and garlic, and a very simple dal to serve on the side of future meals.  

The beans I modified by omitting the Instant Pot entirely, and pre-cooking them in the original plastic package for 4 minutes before sautéing them on the stovetop with the required spices.  The beans were overcooked so in the future I will pre-cook them for 2 - 2.5 minutes.  They did have a lovely flavor from the mustard seeds, urad dal, and chile though, so it was a nice spice blend to repeat (omitting the lemon juice, which I didn't have).

Panko-Crusted Tofu with Ginger Scallion Sauce - Elevating a Weeknight Meal

At a family Lunar New Year celebration this year, I sampled a tofu dish that somehow stood out from the feast's many delicious offerings.  This tofu was lightly coated in panko breadcrumbs, pan fried, and served with a refreshing and sharp ginger sauce.  I immediately asked for the recipe, which came from Food & Wine Magazine.

When I finally made this recipe, I was really surprised by how quick it can be prepared.  I initially made it on a weekend, thinking it would far more time consuming than it was.  Despite there being many steps, they each take virtually no time.  

I first prepared the sauce, which I modified to be more like the David Chang Momofuko ginger-scallion sauce.  I specifically diced 2 scallions (white and green parts); minced ~1tsp of fresh ginger; and eyeballed rice vinegar, salt, and grapeseed oil.  

I left the sauce sit on the countertop as I then prepared the tofu.  For my first attempt, I sliced the drained and pressed tofu block in half width-wise and in thirds length-wise for 6 pieces.  My husband thought that the tofu could have benefited from thinner portions, so the second time I made this dish, I sliced 9 pieces - one-third cuts along both the width and length of the tofu block.  

I then lightly whisked an egg in one shallow bowl and tossed less than a cup of breadcrumbs onto a plate.  For the second recipe attempt, I added in some sesame seeds, sea salt, and a few dashes of Chinese five spice to the breadcrumbs, all of which added subtle additional flavors to the fried tofu.

After dredging the tofu slices in the egg and then panko, I then immediately placed the slices in a pre-heated (on medium-high heat) nonstick skillet.  I cooked the slices for approx. 4 minutes on each side, until the panko was browned to my liking.

I then served the hot tofu over steamed rice, with some sauce drizzled on each slice.  Yum!  The leftovers were also great, though with a slightly eggier flavor.  I think this will be a monthly treat in our house moving forward!

Fourth Time's a Charm - A Sichuan Eggplant Success!

How I dread seeing raw eggplant.  It fills me with fear and sadness because I have never been able to successfully prepare it at home.

Cooked eggplant though I thoroughly enjoy seeing on my plates at restaurants and other's homes. 

I have tried, tried, and tried again to master eggplant at home, but each time resulted in failure or close to it. 

Well, past failures be darned!  When I saw some long eggplant at the grocery store recently I decided to be bold and try this dish again.

I decided to alter my approach, and followed an Omnivore's Cookbook recipe that called for coating the eggplant slivers with cornstarch before pan frying.

Similar to past recipes I've followed, prior to preparing the eggplant slices, soak the cut pieces in salt water to get rid of excess moisture.

Then pan fry the eggplant slivers until they are well-browned.  I almost stopped cooking the pieces when they had a facial browning on some sides, but the eggplant still tasted undercooked and tough.  I decided to keep them on the heat until they broke down more, resulting in a soft interior and crisper edges - approximately 10 minutes of cooking time.

Then using the same skillet, prepare the sauce before adding the eggplant back in.  

I largely followed the Omnivore's Cookbook sauce approach, which resulted in a cornstarch-heavy gloppy sauce and too much sauce for the reduced amount of eggplant I had (13 oz. compared to 16 oz. called for in recipe).  It was also a little sweet for my taste, though we added ground Sichuan peppercorn to the plated eggplant, which made it much better.  I will probably improvise my own sauce approach moving forward for this otherwise great eggplant dish!  Success at last!

Vegan Thai Green Curry - Third Time's Almost the Charm

I seem to be on an 5-year cycle of attempting vegan Thai green curry, based on my last posts on the topic.  This latest attempt was inspired by Nancie McDermott's Simply Vegetarian Thai Cooking cookbook which I picked up from the library pre-pandemic. 

McDermott's curry approach is to first boil a small amount of coconut milk and then add the curry paste to allow the curry and coconut flavors to bloom and better influence the final dish.

It's been so long since I last made Thai curry that I can't tell if this approach made a difference to the final flavors, which I still found a little bland for my tastes.  I've made this recipe twice in the past few weeks.  The second time, I quadrupled the curry paste (~4 tbsp.) and added some diced green chile which did make a noticeable, but not complete, flavor improvement.  

I also tried to ensure the tofu took on more of the curry flavor by layering the cut tofu with paper towels and placing a can on top for as much water to press out as possible.  I placed the can on the tofu for approx. 30 minutes.

The tofu did seem to retain its shape better using this approach, and it may have also absorbed the flavors of the dish more than if the tofu was more watery.  Unfortunately, my lack of traditional tofu prep in recent years is fogging my memory on how much of a difference this approach made!

I decided to improvise my own vegetable add-ins, and selected red bell pepper, onion, and carrots.  I added the carrots in when I added in the tofu and coconut milk, and I added the bell pepper and onion after the curry had been boiling for about 10 minutes.

I added another dash of soy sauce at the end to add more flavor to the dish, so I think moving forward I will probably double the amount of soy sauce to 2 tsp.  Finally, I also think that the carrots were a bit overcooked, so moving forward I will probably cook the tofu in the boiling curry for 5 minutes, then add the carrots for another 5 minutes, then the bell pepper and onion for the final ~5 minutes of cooking to make sure each cooks the appropriate amount.  

I still need to figure out how to nail a green curry flavor and not coconut milk-forward Thai green curry.  Stay posted for my next attempt in 5 years!

Broccolini Pasta with Garlicky Breadcrumbs - Satisfying, Multi-Textured Dinner

While I have a go-to broccoli rabe with pasta recipe, as readers of this blog know, I get bored easily and always want to try new approaches.  

Enter Milk Street's Orecchiette with Broccolini.  While I didn't have orecchiette, I was intrigued by their garlic-infused panko breadcrumbs and cooking the broccolini, which I was able to procure instead of broccoli rabe, separately from the pasta for presumptively deeper flavor.

The result was fantastic.  In contrast to our standard approach, the garlickly breadcrumbs added a great flavor and texture to the pasta and the sautéed broccolini remained crunchy.  The final dish was also less oily than our standard approach, which I appreciated because it made the pasta seem healthier and less heavy / fatty.  I also omitted a shaved parmesan topping because the dish was so good on it's own!

I modified the proportions of the dish to accommodate the 10 oz. of pasta I had and slightly less than one pound of broccolini.  I used 3 cloves of minced garlic and 3 cloves of sliced garlic, and reduced the pasta cooking / sauce water to 4.25 cups, which may have been too much (more on that below).  I also omitted the anchovies because I am vegetarian, and didn't notice it's omission at all.

You start by preparing the garlicky panko breadcrumbs.  Simply cook the garlic in olive oil in a medium pot, and then stir in the breadcrumbs until they are fragrant and lightly browned.

Then cook the chopped broccolini in the same pot.  Despite the multiple cooking steps for this dish, it's use of only one cooking pot and relatively short cook times makes this a weeknight appropriate meal.

And then yes, in the same pot used for the panko and the broccolini, bring a relatively small amount of water to boil before adding the pasta.  As stated above, I reduced the 5 cups called for in the recipe to 4.25 cups for my 10 oz of pasta.  I should have reduced the water further to 4 cups because I ultimately had to cook the pasta and sauce for longer at the back-end to evaporate additional water, leaving my pasta slightly overcooked.

Then toss with the breadcrumbs and serve.  Yum!

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce - Flat without Sage

My last post featured my first use of a hand-crack pasta roller.  Today's post highlights the sauce that accompanied this homemade pasta, an improvised butternut squash sauce.

The inspiration for the recipe was drawn from several blogs, including Cookie and Kate.  I made a number of modifications to fit my personal preferences, what I had on hand, and past tips to coax the best flavor out of butternut squash. 

While I will stick with most of those modifications in the future, the one omission I will not repeat is no sage leaves.  Sage and butternut squash is a classic combination for a reason.  Sage adds an earthy and fresh flavor that can complete an otherwise creamy and bland butternut squash dish, and I noticed its exclusion from the pasta dish.  I also should have added slightly more pasta water to my final sauce, and it ended up being a bit too pasty and dry.

The full recipe details follow below.

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

• One 1.7 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed into 1/2 inch blocks 
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1.25 cups water
• 1.25 tsp of Better than Bouillon
• Crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to taste
• - 1/2 onion with 2 tbsp oil, 2 cloves sliced garlic
• Parmesan to garnish, optional

Directions:

• Place the butternut squash in a microwave safe dish, cover and microwave for 5 minutes
  
  

• At the same time, heat the olive oil in a medium pot on medium-high heat.  When hot and shimmering, add the onion and saute for 3 - 4 minutes or until the onion is translucent.  Stir in the garlic and a pinch of salt.

• Add the partially cooked butternut squash, along with the liquid from the cooked squash, to the pot.  Stir to combine.

• Saute for 3 - 5 minutes, and then stir in the water and bouillon.  Bring dish to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.  Cook until the butternut squash is fully tender and falling apart, approx. 10 - 15 minutes.

• Add crushed red pepper flakes to taste, and then puree the sauce with a stick blender or by placing the contents into a blender and then returning to the pot.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Stir in the cooked pasta.  Add pasta water if necessary to thin the sauce to your preference.  Serve immediately with a generous portion of parmesan cheese.

The Pasta Roller Arrives! Homemade Pasta-Making is Here to Stay!

I finally did it friends.  I purchased a hand-crank pasta roller, the famed Marcato Atlas 150 machine.  And sure, some may say that it's just another kitchen tool that I may not use (cough, cough ice cream maker), but after my first use, I knew this machine is going to get a lot of use in our kitchen.

First, it's incredibly easy to use.  Incredibly intuitive.  Second, it makes pasta making SO FAST.  I am used to the laborious, hand rolling of my pasta sheets, which has had me shy away from making pasta more than once a year or so.  This smooth moving pasta roller almost makes homemade pasta a weeknight appropriate dish.  

For this inaugural pasta machine attempt, I used the King Arthur Flour Italian Style Flour Blend (their version of 00) and their accompanying pasta recipe.  I made two slight modifications - I let the eggs come to room temperature before starting the dough (tip from the Marcato guide) and I used the flour well method to incorporate the eggs into the flour.

After the dough rested, the fun began!  I have to admit I was nervous I would break the machine before getting started, but once I got over that fear, it really almost rolled itself!

I first used a test piece, as instructed by the manual, to go through the roller and cutter settings to clean the machine.  And then I got started with the "real" dough, having it go through the thickest setting several times before feeding it through the tighter roll settings.  Each progressive roll through the machine required a good dusting of flour on each side to make sure there wasn't any sticking to the machine.

And then through the machine one last time for the cutting of the strips, which was really, really fun.

The pasta then cooked really quickly - about 3.5 minutes - in a pot of well-salted boiling water.

The noodles were springy, salty, and really delicious after they were cooked.  I was almost tempted to eat them plain! 

I decided though to use the sauce I had been cooking while the pasta was resting, a butternut squash sauce that will be posted later this week.  The final product was fantastic.  The noodles took to the thick sauce well, and it was really a delight to eat these chewy, well-salted, and silky noodles.

Thank you, thank you Marcato for your product!

The Best Dal Makhani I've Ever Made - Thank You Dishoom!

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of eating at one of the popular Dishoom restaurant locations in London.  It was my first Indian meal in London during this trip, and definitely spoke to London's reputation as a global destination for fantastic Indian food.

Nearly every dish we got was perfect - well-spiced and cooked just the right amount - such that it was hard to pick out a favorite.  One dish our table kept coming back to though was the "every restaurant" dish of black dal or dal makhani, which we all tried to figure out how they were able to get "THAT good."

Well, thanks to Dishoom's new cookbook, we don't have to wonder any longer as their house black dal recipe is included.  

This dal hits your tongue with a distinct acid tang from the tomato, a slight sweetness from the butter and ginger, and ultimately its creamy and luscious contents melt into your mouth, showcasing the dal's long cook time.  However, I did make a modification to that long cook time in that I pre-cooked the dal in my Instant Pot a few days before I prepared the final dish.

The total cook time for the pre-cooked dal was about an hour to an hour and a half, and I used a scale to measure the remaining ingredients that I added to the warmed up dal.  I halved the ingredients to accommodate our two-person household.

I substituted tomato puree for the tomato puree (I couldn't find a good equivalent to the British tomato puree in the local supermarket) and similarly used heavy cream in place of the recipe's British double cream. 

And then I just cooked away until the dal was creamy and the tomato and butter flavors fully melded into the dish.  I served it with both rice and Indian breads.

Same Day Neapolitan Style Pizza - Good for Pizza in a Pinch

With lots of King Arthur Flour's 00 equivalent flour in my cupboard, and my homemade pasta-making efforts long-stalled, what to do?  This was a question I asked myself for many months without resolution.  Well, sometime the answer is the most obvious - go to the King Arthur Flour website for suggestions.  

I opened several tabs on my browser for KAF-recommended options, and ultimately settled on the Thin-Crust Pizza recipe because it largely had the ingredients available in my pantry and it fit my fancy for what I wanted that day.

While this pizza dough can largely be made in the time it takes to pre-heat a pizza stone, I ended up doing two slightly longer rises for the dough - about 75 minutes for the first rise and about 1 hour for the second, covered rise.

I had a bit of a tough time rolling out the dough between a sheet of parchment and wax paper as I completely ignored the instructions to grease the sheets first.  Oops!  And I omitted the suggested KAF easy-roll dough improver, which also probably had an effect. But thankfully the dough sticking was rectified by slow peeling and scraping it from the wax paper.

For the second covered rise of the dough, because I didn't grease the wax paper and was worried about re-sticking, I decided to just flip over the dough mixing bowl to cover the dough.  It actually worked totally fine!

I baked the dough for approx. 7 minutes on a pizza stone in a 450 degree oven, then added toppings before baking an additional 5 minutes or so.

The baked pizza definitely tasted like an olive oil bread, like a focaccia.  That felt evident in the dry and airy texture, as well as the flavor.  The bottom of the pizza was nicely browned, but as I was eating it, I continued to feel like I was eating a dressed up focaccia rather than a pizza. 

While that experience was fine, I think it ultimately means this won't be a go-to pizza recipe, rather a go-to-quick-fix pizza recipe.